Court of the Lord Lyon
The Court of the Lord Lyon, or Lyon Court, is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of genealogies.
Court of the Lord Lyon
1532
New Register House
3 West Register Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3YT[1]
Appointed by Monarch of the United Kingdom
Lyon King of Arms Act 1592 and subsequent statutes
Civil: Inner House of the Court of Session
Criminal: High Court of Justiciary
17 January 2014
The Lyon Court is a public body, and the fees for grants of arms are paid to His Majesty's Treasury. It is headed by the Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who must be legally qualified, as he has criminal jurisdiction in heraldic matters, and the court is fully integrated into the Scottish legal system, including having a dedicated prosecutor, known in Scotland as a procurator fiscal.
Its equivalent in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, in terms of awarding arms, is the College of Arms, which is a royal corporation and not a court of law. The High Court of Chivalry is a civil court in England and Wales with jurisdiction over cases dealing with heraldry.
Judges and office holders[edit]
Officers of the Lyon Court[edit]
The only judge of the Lyon Court is the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The Lord Lyon is part of the judiciary of Scotland but is not subject to the discipline of the Lord President of the Court of Session. The Lord President's powers of discipline are outlined in the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 and the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 – the Lord Lyon is included in neither Act. The administration of the Court is also separate from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.[9][10][11]
The other officers of the Lyon Court are the Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records whose appointments are made by royal sign-manual, and the Procurator Fiscal who is independently appointed by the Scottish Ministers. Both officers are registered in The Edinburgh Gazette. There is also a Macer to the Lord Lyon who is a senior Messenger-at-Arms. The Macer appears when the Court is sitting in public and when Proclamations are made by the Lord Lyon.
