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Scottish Courts
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. The judiciary of Scotland, except the Lord Lyon King of Arms, are united under the leadership and authority of the Lord President and Lord Justice General, who is the president of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session has the authority, under the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act ...
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Law Courts Entrance, Parliament Square
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Social science#Law, science and as the art of justice. State-enforced laws can be made by a legislature, resulting in statutes; by the executive through decrees and regulations; or by judges' decisions, which form precedent in common law jurisdictions. An autocrat may exercise those functions within their realm. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and also serves as a mediator of relations between people. Legal systems vary between Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, with their differences analysed in comparative law. In Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions, a legislature or othe ...
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Criminal Justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other crimes, and moral support for victims. The primary institutions of the criminal justice system are the police, prosecution and defense lawyers, the courts and the prisons system. Criminal justice system Definition The criminal justice system consists of three main parts: #Law enforcement agencies, usually the police #Courts ,accompanying prosecution and defence lawyers #Agencies for detaining and supervising offenders, such as prisons and probation agencies. In the criminal justice system, these distinct agencies operate together as the principal means of maintaining the rule of law within society. Law enforcement The first contact a defendant has with the criminal justice system is usually with the police (or ''law enforcement'') wh ...
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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 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. Under the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 (as amended), each sheriff principal is appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the First Minister of Scotland, who is advised by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. As of May 2017 there were six sheriffs principal, each of whom has responsibility not only as a judge, but for the administration of justice in their respective sheriffdoms. Sheriffs principal have to ensure ...
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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 resident or floating sheriff (a legally qualified judge). Sheriffs principal and resident or floating sheriffs are all members of the judiciary of Scotland. History Before 1975 Sheriffdoms were originally identical to the shires of Scotland, originating in the twelfth century. Until the eighteenth century the office of sheriff was often hereditary, but this was ended following the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising of 1745. The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 (20 Geo. 2. c. 43) revested the government of the shires in the Crown, compensating those office holders who were displaced. The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 (21 Geo. 2. c. 19) reduced the office of sheriff principal to a largely ceremonial one, with a sheriff depute or sheriff ...
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Sheriff Court
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 , 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. Sheriff courts hear civil cases as a bench trial without a jury, and make determinations and judgments alone. However, the specialist all-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court (based in Edinburgh) has the ability to hear cases with a j ...
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Act Of Adjournal
An Act of Adjournal is secondary legislation made by the High Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal court of Scotland, to regulate the proceedings of Scottish courts hearing criminal matters. Now primarily derived from the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, the original power to create Acts of Adjournal is derived from an Act of the Parliament of Scotland in 1672. Before promulgation, Acts of Adjournal are reviewed and may be commented upon by the Criminal Courts Rules Council. Following Scottish devolution and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, Acts of Adjournal are made as Scottish Statutory Instruments. Before devolution, acts were made as United Kingdom statutory instruments. History Courts Act 1672 The Courts Act 1672 (c. 40) (originally ''Act concerning the regulation of the judicatories'') created the High Court of Justiciary by attaching five Lords of Session to the Lord Justice General and Lord Justice Clerk. The act provided that "the j ...
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Scottish Criminal Law
Scots criminal law relies far more heavily on common law than in England and Wales. Scottish criminal law includes offences against the person of murder, culpable homicide, rape and assault, offences against property such as theft and malicious mischief, and public order offences including mobbing and breach of the peace. Scottish criminal law can also be found in the statutes of the UK Parliament with some areas of criminal law, such as misuse of drugs and traffic offences appearing identical on both sides of the Border. Scottish criminal law can also be found in the statute books of the Scottish Parliament such as the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (2009 asp 9) and Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007 (2007 asp 11) which only apply to Scotland. In fact, the Scots requirement of corroboration in criminal matters changes the practical prosecution of crimes derived from the same enactment. Corroboration is not required in England or in civil cases in Scot ...
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Act Of Sederunt
An Act of Sederunt ( ; meaning a meeting or sitting of a court) is secondary legislation made by the Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland, to regulate the proceedings of Scottish courts and tribunals hearing civil matters. Originally made under an Act of the Parliament of Scotland of 1532, the modern power to make Acts of Sederunt is largely derived from the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Since 2013, draft Acts have also been prepared by the Scottish Civil Justice Council and submitted to the Court of Session for approval. Following Scottish devolution and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, Acts of Sederunt are made as Scottish statutory instruments. Previously, Acts were made as United Kingdom statutory instruments, and before that were a separate class of legislation. History College of Justice Act 1532 The Court of Session—more accurately the College of Justice—was established by the Parliament of Scotland under James V in 1532 ...
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Scots Civil Procedure
Scots civil procedure governs the rules of civil procedure in Scotland. It deals with the jurisdiction of the country's civil courts, namely the Court of Session and sheriff courts. Civil procedure is regulated by Acts of Sederunt which are ordinances passed by the Court of Session. Rules for the functioning of the Court of Session were decided upon by the Court of Session Rules Council, which was instituted by the Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1933 and reconfirmed by the Court of Session Act 1988 and those for the Sheriff Court were agreed on by the Sheriff Court Rules Council, which is the body responsible for reviewing the Sheriff Court civil procedure under review. Primary legislation may also be enacted to regulate civil procedure, such as the Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 which removed requirements for corroborating evidence. However, rules for both the Court of Session and sheriff courts are now decided upon by the Scottish Civil Justice Council. ...
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Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014
The Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 18) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2014 to improve access to the civil justice system and while making the Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ... a place for the more complex cases. History The origins of this radical legislative reform lie with the Gill Report of 2009. The bill was introduced by Kenny MacAskill MSP on 6 February 2014. The bill was passed by the Parliament on 7 October 2014. It received Royal Assent on 6 May 2015. Provisions The legislation created a national Sheriff Appeal Court. The legislation raised the threshold from £5,000 to £100,000 for a case to be brought to the Court of Session. Some changes, such as a reduced ability to recover counsel's fees, make arb ...
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Lord President Of The Court Of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The Lord President holds the title of Lord Justice General of Scotland and the head of the High Court of Justiciary ''ex officio'', as the two offices were combined in 1836. The Lord President has authority over any court established under Scots law, except for the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Court of the Lord Lyon. The current Lord President of the Court of Session is Lord Pentland, who was appointed to the position on 3 February 2025 succeeding Lord Carloway They are paid according to salary group 1.1 of the Judicial Salaries Scale, which in 2016 was £222,862. Remit and jurisdiction Head of the judiciary As Lord President of the Court of Session and is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciar ...
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Lord Lyon King Of Arms
The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation. The historic title of the post was the ''High Seanchaí, Sennachie'', and he was given the title of Lord Lyon from the lion in the Royal coat of arms of Scotland, coat of arms of Scotland. The post was in the early nineteenth century held by an important nobleman, the Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull, Earl of Kinnoull, whose functions were in practice carried out by the Lyon-Depute. The practice of appointing Lyon-Deputes, however, ceased in 1866. Responsibilities The Lord Lyon is responsible for overseeing state ceremonial in Scotland, for the granting o ...
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