The Court of Session Act 1808 was an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 (citation 48 Geo III c. 151) which reformed Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

's highest court

Court

A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

, the Court of Session

Court of Session

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....

. Reform of the Court of Session had been proposed as early as 1805 by the Whig

British Whig Party

The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...

 government trying to impose a system based on that of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, especially the use of a civil jury trial. That particular government fell before their reform bill was enacted. In 1808, reform was pushed through by a Tory

Tory

Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

 government. The Court was split into two divisions. Judgments of the new divisions could only be appealed to the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 at the leave of the division, or in the case of a dispute between its judges. Decrees of the Lords Ordinary

Lord Ordinary

Lord Ordinary is a term used to describe any judge in the Outer House of the Scottish Court of Session....

 could only be appealed to the House of Lords after being reviews by the Divisional judges. The Act also established a commission to review the processes of the Court of Session, including the possibility of the introduction of jury trial

Jury trial

A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...

 and the creation of permanent Lords Ordinary. The Commissioner's review led to two further Acts, the Court of Session Act 1810

Court of Session Act 1810

The Court of Session Act 1810 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom reforming Scotland's highest court, the Court of Session. This Act was a follow-up Act to the Court of Session Act 1808 in reforming the Court of Session, creating the two divisions known as the Inner House and the...

 and the Court of Session Act 1813

Court of Session Act 1813

The Court of Session Act 1813 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which reformed Scotland's highest court, the Court of Session. The Act continued reforms to the Court of Session begun by the Court of Session Act 1808 and the Court of Session Act 1810, creating the divisions known...

. These two Acts created the existing system of two divisions known as the Outer House

Outer House

The Outer House is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted to it by the other more senior part, the Inner House...

 and the Inner House

Inner House

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...

. Trial by jury came later with the Jury Trials (Scotland) Act 1815.