The Office of the Accountant of Court is a public body which is a constituent part of the

Supreme Courts A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The Accountant of Court is administered 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 ...

. Based in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, the office of Accountant of Court, also known as the Accountant of the Court of Session (see

Court of Session 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 ...

), was established by the

Judicial Factors Act 1849 The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

, and their role was further defined by the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The Accountant of Court's Office formerly dealt with guardianship cases in respect of adults with

incapacity Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or altogether the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person ( ...

. However, following the introduction of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

, these cases were transferred to the new

Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) in Scotland is a public body based in Falkirk as part of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, established in April 2001 following the passing of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 The ...

Remit and jurisdiction

Supervision of Judicial Factors

The Accountant of Court is responsible for ensuring that those appointed by the Courts as Judicial Factor in terms of the Judicial Factors Act 1849 manage the estates in their charge properly. A Judicial Factor is an Officer of the Court, who is appointed by the Court in complex or difficult cases, where a particular problem has been identified and where the estate (known as the Judicial Factory Estate) is without any other legal protection or administration. The Accountant of Court will generally superintend the actions of a Judicial Factor and provide them with the necessary guidance and direction required progress a case. In addition the Accountant of Court is also responsible for investigating any concerns or complaints that are raised against a Judicial Factor. The Accountant of Court is also responsible for supervising Enforcement Administrators appointed by the Courts to recover assets confiscated in terms of the

Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act 1995 In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compa ...

Property due to children under the age of 16 years

With the introduction of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 the Accountant of Court became responsible for the administration and supervision of property that is due to a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

in Scotland (the age of legal capacity under

Scots law 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 l ...

is 16). In terms of sections 9 & 13 of sections of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 act, the Accountant of Court has a responsibility to ensure that the funds or property owned by or due to the child are properly administered and managed.

Consignation of Funds

The Court of Session Consignation (Scotland) Act 1895 made the Accountant of Court custodian for all consigned funds for the

. The Accountant of Court is also responsible for holding unclaimed dividends and unapplied balances lodged relative to liquidation/administration proceedings, dissenting shareholders and Judicial Factories. The Accountant of Court will hold the funds until such times as the rightful party makes a successful claim and uplifts their funds for a period of 7 years at which point the funds are remitted to the Secretary of State.

Administration of Child Trust Funds

Under the

Child Trust Funds Act 2004 The Child Trust Funds Act 2004 (c 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Introductory Section 2 - Eligible children The words "and before 3rd January 2011" were inserted after "31st August 2002" in section 2(1) by section 1(2) of ...

the Accountant of Court was authorised to administer Child Trust Fund accounts on behalf of a child under the age of 16 where there is no person who has parental responsibilities. On 1 October 2017 new regulations were introduced which allowed

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

to transfer authority to administer these Child Trust Funds to The Share Foundation.

References

External links

Office of the Accountant of Court
at the Scottish Court Service website
Accountant of Court: factories and curatories
at the National Archives of Scotland {{Court of Session 1849 establishments in Scotland 19th century in Scotland Court of Session Organisations based in Edinburgh Courts of Scotland College of Justice Financial services in Scotland