Scottish Court of Session Decisions

This was a Special Case under the Court of Session Act 1868. The 63d section of that Act declares that any parties interested in the decision of a question of law shall be agreed on the facts, and shall dispute only on the law applicable thereto; it shall be competent to present to the Court a special case, “setting forth the facts upon which they are so agreed, and the question of law thence arising upon which they desire to obtain the opinion of the Court; and which case may set forth alternately the terms in which the parties agree that judgment shall be pronounced, according to the opinion of the Court, upon the question of law aforesaid. When a special case is laid before one of the Divisions, the Court shall … give their opinion, and pronounce judgment, as the case may be, and such judgment shall be extractable in common form … Judgments pronounced in virtue of this section shall be liable to review by the House of Lords, unless such review shall be concluded of consent of all parties.” In this case the parties asked only the opinion, and not the judgment, of the Court.