Glasgow Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

( Laurieston) area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, 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 r ...

of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. It is reputedly the busiest court in Europe.

History

The new court was commissioned to replace the Old Sheriff Court in Wilson Street. The new court is located at 1 Carlton Place in the

area of Glasgow, on the banks of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

and adjacent to

Glasgow Central Mosque Glasgow Central Mosque is located on the south bank of the River Clyde in the Gorbals district of central Glasgow. The organization, 'Muslims in Britain' classify the Glasgow Central Mosque as, Deobandi. The Mosque The Mosque was designed ...

. It is a three-storey building of large cut stone construction and was formally opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on 29 July 1986. In 2008, the roof of the building was fitted with 700 square metres of solar panels, with the capacity to create some 97 kW of power. The system cost £500,000 to install, has an expected life-span of forty years, and is predicted to cut £20,000 from the Court's electricity bill, whilst saving around forty tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Operations

The court deals with both criminal and civil cases. There are currently twenty-eight sheriffs in post at Glasgow Sheriff Court (five of whom are floating sheriffs). 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 11 ...

is Craig Turnbull, who replaced Sheriff Craig Scott in 2016.

References

External links

*{{commonscat-inline Court buildings in Scotland Government buildings in Glasgow Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Gorbals Government buildings completed in 1986 1986 establishments in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Glasgow