Stephen Thomson, The Nobile Officium: The Extraordinary Equitable Jurisdiction of the Supreme Courts of Scotland An ambitious new text has just been published on the nobile officium – the extraordinary equitable jurisdiction of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. The author, Stephen Thomson, spoke about this unusual jurisdiction at the conference “Filling the Gaps: The Study of Judicial Creativity and Equity in Mixed Jurisdictions and Beyond” at the University of Catania in May 2013, co-organised by the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists. The nobile officium enables the Supreme Courts of Scotland to (i) supply a legal norm where an existing norm is deficient, unavailable or absent, or (ii) provide alleviation where the application of an existing norm would be unduly excessive, oppressive or burdensome. The jurisdiction has found application across broad areas of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and continues to form an important aspect of procedural law. Dr. Thomson has
