The Scottish Council of Law Reporting


Publishers of Session Cases®

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Court of Session requires that where a case has been reported in Session Cases it must be cited from that source. Other series of reports may only be used when a case is not reported in Session Cases.”

Court of Session Practice Note No. 5 of 2004

High Court of Justiciary Practice Note No. 2 of 2004 gives a similar direction in respect of cases cited before the High Court of Justiciary and Court of Criminal Appeal. More about Session Cases in hard copy and online, including open access scottish law reports.

Macfadyen Lectures

The SCLR sponsors a series of lectures by senior judges and lawyers on topics relating to the broad themes of advocacy, the role of the judiciary, and the development of law and legal techniques.

Brexit, a Judicial View

The eighth Macfadyen Lecture was delivered on 8th March 2018 by Judge Ian Forrester, UK judge of the General Court of the European Community, at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Judge Forrester considered the legal challenges presented by Brexit and discussed the practical problems for judges and citizens arising from Brexit that are in need of clarification and decision.

The text of the lecture as delivered can be found here.

The Role of Law Reports

The SCLR offers a series of five linked short films about law reporting in Scotland and the place of law reports in legal practice. The celebrated ‘snail in the ginger beer bottle’ case of Donoghue v. Stevenson, which originated in Scotland, provides a useful theme as the role of precedent in the work of lawyers and the courts is explained. The films are presented as a free educational resource, especially useful for those seeking to understand the role of law reports as a primary source of law.

The five films are:

The SCLR has published supplementary teaching materials in the form of three Working with Cases tutorials, to be used in conjunction with the films. These are in PDF and are free to download for printing and or adaptation and distribution to students. The SCLR has also produced Working with Cases: Comments and Solutions. These resources are available free of charge and any law teacher requiring a copy should request them, giving some details as to their role and institution and how the films are being used in their teaching. To do so, please use the contact form.

Session Cases is a registered Trade Mark of The Scottish Council of Law Reporting.