Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, within the

sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...

of Edinburgh and Borders.

History

Courtroom in Edinburgh Sheriff Court (2892867378)

The new court was commissioned by the

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service , type = , seal = , logo = 250px , logo_caption = , formed = , jurisdiction = Scotland , headquarters = Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD , employees = 1,374 , budget = £129.3 million (2015-2016) , chief1_name = Lord ...

to replace the Old Sheriff Court in the

Lawnmarket The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

. The site they selected had previously been occupied by a part of

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

. Designed by John Kirkwood Wilson of PSA Projects, it was built with 16 courtrooms, at a cost of £47 million, and was officially opened to the public in September 1994.

Operations

The court deals with both criminal and civil cases. There are currently thirteen sheriffs in post at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. They sit alone in civil cases and are assisted by a jury of fifteen members selected from the

electoral roll An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

in some criminal cases (cases using solemn procedure only). The

Sheriff Principal In Scotland a sheriff principal (''pl''. sheriffs 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 ce ...

is Nigel Ross who was appointed in 2022.

References

External links

*{{commonscat-inline Court buildings in Scotland Government buildings in Edinburgh Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Government buildings completed in 1994 1994 establishments in Scotland