Inverness Justice Centre is a sheriff court and Justice of the Peace Court venue in Longman Road,

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, Scotland. It also includes the offices of the Procurator Fiscal.

History

Until 2020, all sheriff court hearings took place at

Inverness Castle Inverness Castle ( gd, Caisteal Inbhir Nis) sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. A succession of castles have stood on this site since 1057, although the present structure dates from 1836. The present structure is ...

. However, as the number of court cases in Inverness grew, it became necessary to commission a modern courthouse for criminal matters. The site selected 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 ...

had previously been occupied by a bus depot on Longman Road, which had once been fronted by a row of terraced houses. The new building was designed by Reiach and Hall Architects in the Moderist style, built by

Robertson Group Robertson Group is a large British construction company based in Elgin, Scotland, but also operating in the north and midlands of England. It is the largest construction company in Scotland. History The company was founded by Bill Robertson in El ...

with support from

Willmott Dixon Willmott Dixon is a privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business. History The company was founded in 1852, by John Willmott.colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

of square columns supporting a concrete frame. In the left hand section of five bays, the columns were

canted Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a lan ...

forward from the longer right hand section of 30 bays, so creating a sheltered area for access to the building. Behind the columns the building was clad in sheet glass. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms. The building was named Public Building of the Year in the Scottish Design Awards for 2021, and was awarded the Architectural Excellence Award (Public) in the Scottish Property Awards for 2021. Notable court cases have included the trial and conviction of William MacDowell, in September 2022, for the murder of his lover, Renee MacRae, and their son, Andrew MacRae, in 1976: the case was heard by the

High Court of Justiciary 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 Cou ...

sitting in the Inverness Justice Centre.

References

{{reflist Court buildings in Scotland Buildings and structures in Inverness Government buildings completed in 2020