| Edinburgh Sheriff Court | |
|---|---|
 Edinburgh Sheriff Court | |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°56′52″N3°11′26″W / 55.9478°N 3.1906°W Coordinates: 55°56′52″N3°11′26″W / 55.9478°N 3.1906°W |
| Number of positions | 13 |
| Sheriff Principal | |
| Currently | Nigel Ross |
| Since | 2022 |
Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders.
Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnmarket. [1] However, as the number of court cases in Edinburgh grew, it became necessary to commission a modern courthouse for criminal matters. The site they selected had previously been occupied by a part of Heriot-Watt University. [2] [3]
The new courthouse was designed by John Kirkwood Wilson of PSA Projects, [4] built in buff sandstone [5] at a cost of £47 million, [2] and was officially opened to the public by the sheriff principal, Gordon Nicholson, in September 1994. [6] [7] [8] The Cowgate elevation is eight storeys high and public access is to be building, which on the fourth level, is from Chambers Street. [4] Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate 16 courtrooms. [9]
The court deals with both criminal and civil cases. There are currently thirteen sheriffs in post at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. [10] They sit alone in civil cases and are assisted by a jury of fifteen members selected from the electoral roll in some criminal cases (cases using solemn procedure only). The Sheriff Principal is Nigel Ross who was appointed in 2022. [11]
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a trial court and a court of appeal. Decisions of the court can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, with the permission of either the Inner House or the Supreme Court. The Court of Session and the local sheriff courts of Scotland have concurrent jurisdiction for all cases with a monetary value in excess of £100,000; the plaintiff is given first choice of court. However, the majority of complex, important, or high value cases are brought in the Court of Session. Cases can be remitted to the Court of Session from the sheriff courts, including the Sheriff Personal Injury Court, at the request of the presiding sheriff. Legal aid, administered by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, is available to persons with little disposable income for cases in the Court of Session.
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in the Old Town in Edinburgh, or in dedicated buildings in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland, where it uses the local sheriff court building. As an appeal court, the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland, at Zeist in the Netherlands during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, as the Scottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court, and an appeal court for the initial appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
A sheriff court is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to £100,000, and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and rape, which are in the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of Justiciary. Though the sheriff courts have concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court over armed robbery, drug trafficking, and sexual offences involving children, the vast majority of these cases are heard by the High Court. Each court serves a sheriff court district within one of the six sheriffdoms of Scotland. Each sheriff court is presided over by a sheriff, who is a legally qualified judge, and part of the judiciary of Scotland.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) is an independent public body which is responsible for the administration of the courts and tribunals of Scotland. The Service is led by a board which is chaired by the Lord President of the Court of Session, and employs over 1000 staff members in the country's 39 sheriff courts, 34 justice of the peace courts, the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary, and at the service's headquarters in Edinburgh. The day-to-day administration of the service is the responsibility of its Chief Executive and Executive Directors. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is also responsible for providing administrative services for the Judicial Office for Scotland, the Office of the Public Guardian, the Accountant of Court, the Criminal Courts Rules Council, and the Scottish Civil Justice Council.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the Scottish legal system is responsible for prosecution, along with the area procurators fiscal. In Scotland, virtually all prosecution of criminal offences is undertaken by the Crown. Private prosecutions are extremely rare.
The courts of Scotland are responsible for administration of justice in Scotland, under statutory, common law and equitable provisions within Scots law. The courts are presided over by the judiciary of Scotland, who are the various judicial office holders responsible for issuing judgments, ensuring fair trials, and deciding on sentencing. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, subject to appeals to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court, which is only subject to the authority of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on devolution issues and human rights compatibility issues.
In Scotland a sheriff principal is a judge in charge of a sheriffdom with judicial, quasi-judicial, and administrative responsibilities. Sheriffs principal have been part of the judiciary of Scotland since the 11th century. Sheriffs principal were originally appointed by the monarch of Scotland, and evolved into a heritable jurisdiction before appointment was again vested in the Crown and the monarch of the United Kingdom following the passage of the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746.
Glasgow Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in the Gorbals (Laurieston) area of Glasgow, within the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. Reputedly the busiest court in Europe, it is a Category B listed building.
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland law, it is one of the three legal systems of the United Kingdom.
The judiciary of Scotland are the judicial office holders who sit in the courts of Scotland and make decisions in both civil and criminal cases. Judges make sure that cases and verdicts are within the parameters set by Scots law, and they must hand down appropriate judgments and sentences. Judicial independence is guaranteed in law, with a legal duty on Scottish Ministers, the Lord Advocate and the Members of the Scottish Parliament to uphold judicial independence, and barring them from influencing the judges through any form of special access.
The Sheriff Appeal Court is a court in Scotland that hears appeals from summary criminal proceedings in the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts, and hears appeals on bail decisions made in solemn proceedings in the sheriff court. The Sheriff Appeal Court also hears appeals in civil cases from the sheriff courts, including the Sheriff Personal Injury Court.
The Scottish Sentencing Council is an advisory non-departmental public body in Scotland that produces sentencing guidelines for use in the High Court of Justiciary, sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts. Judges, sheriffs, and justices of the peace must use the guidelines to inform the sentence they pronounce against a convict, and they must give reasons for not following the guidelines.
Tain Tolbooth is a municipal building in the High Street, Tain, Highland, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a courthouse, is a Category A listed building.
Banff Sheriff Court is a judicial structure in Low Street, Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The structure, which was the headquarters of Banffshire County Council and was also used as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
County Buildings is a municipal structure in Ettrick Terrace, Selkirk, Scottish Borders, Scotland. The complex, which was the headquarters of Selkirkshire County Council and was also used as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
Wick Sheriff Court is a judicial structure in Bridge Street, Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The structure, which remains in use as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
The Justiciary Building is a judicial structure in the Lawnmarket in Edinburgh, Scotland. The structure, which operates in conjunction with similar facilities in Glasgow and Aberdeen, is dedicated for the use of the High Court of Justiciary, which is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. It is a Category B listed building.
Stranraer Sheriff Court is a judicial building in Lewis Street, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The building, which continues to be used as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
Hamilton Sheriff Court is a judicial building in Almada Street, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The building, which continues to serve as the local courthouse, is a Category A listed building.
Lanark Sheriff Court is a judicial building in Hope Street, Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The building, which continues to serve as the local courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
Media related to Edinburgh Sheriff Court at Wikimedia Commons