A Brithem (Latin: Judex, Scots: Dempster) was a hereditary legal expert in medieval Scotland, charged with upholding the laws within one of the provinces of Scotland.
[1] The role is thought to long predate its first documentary record in the 12th century.
[5] Brithems oversaw justice at a higher level than would have been dealt with by local cuthill courts:[1] conducting perambulations to settle land disputes,[6] witnessing charters,[3] conducting inquests,[7] supervising legal assemblies and seigneurial courts,[8] and overseeing compensation to the kin of victims of interpersonal violence.
[6] Up to the 12th century brithems are also recorded making laws, giving judgements to the exclusion of bishops and abbots, and even over-ruling all other elite attendees of provincial assemblies.
[9] From the reign of William the Lion kings began to see themselves rather the brithem as the main source of law-making,[10] and the role of the brithem gradually sank from a prominent position to one of almost insignificance.