The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is the Lord President, with their deputy being the Lord Justice Clerk, and judges of the Inner House are styled Senators of the College of Justice or Lords of Council and Session.Criminal appeals in Scotland are handled by the High Court of Justiciary sitting as the Court of Appeal.
The Inner House is the part of the Court of Session which acts as a court of appeal for cases from the Outer House and from appeals in civil cases from the Sheriff Courts, the Court of the Lord Lyon, Scottish Land Court, and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. It will also sit as a court of first instance in rare instances. The Inner House is always a panel of at least three Senators and does not sit with a jury.
The division of the Court into two houses was first enacted by the Court of Session Act 1810 and most recently confirmed by the Court of Session Act 1988