Sheriff Courts
Sheriff Courts originated with the development of sheriffs and sheriffdoms during the 12th century, from the time of David I.[1] Sheriffs had military, administrative, financial and judicial powers and were responsible for dealing with rebels, collecting taxes and other revenues, maintaining royal castles, local defence and holding royal courts in the local area. The position became, in many jurisdictions, heritable and profitable.
By the 16th century, Sheriff courts were presided over by the sheriff or by a sheriff depute. The head courts were to be held three times a year with additional lesser courts held to deal with minor matters. Sheriff courts could deal with manslaughter, theft and other lesser crimes as well as civil matters. They could also act as a court of appeal from the barony courts, but the separate jurisdictions of the various franchise courts and regality courts gave litigants some choice in where cases were pursued. Sheriff courts also registered deeds covering a wide range of bonds, agreements and other legal actions. They could not, however, deal with the four pleas of the crown (murder, rape, robbery and arson) which had to be heard by the High Court of Justiciary.[2]
There were attempts to improve and reform the sheriff court, such as in 1709 when sheriffs were required to attend the justices of the High Court on their circuits.[3] Major reform came in 1747, as a direct consequence of the Jacobite rebellions, when heritable sheriffs along with other heritable judicial positions, apart from baronies with their powers limited to petty offences, were abolished and instead advocates were appointed as sheriffs depute to preside over the sheriff courts.[4] Payment through salaries instead of fees and permanent appointments of experienced lawyers drove a greater professionalisation of sheriffs.
As a result of the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, the powers of some burgh courts in criminal matters were limited and effectively transferred to the sheriff courts, and over the 19th and 20th century sheriff courts acquired more powers as the roles of Justice of the Peace courts and burgh courts diminished. Sheriff courts also took over the functions of the Commissary Courts (wills and testaments) and the Admiralty Court on their abolition in 1823 and 1830.[5] Small debts, bankruptcy, sequestration and matters relating to heritable rights moved into the sheriff court’s jurisdiction by 1877 and fatal accident inquiries were added in 1895.[6] Between 1897 and 1946 sheriff courts dealt with workmen’s compensation.[7] In the 20th century, sheriff courts were given jurisdiction in adoptions, and their jurisdiction over actions of aliment, declarator, divisions of commonty and registrations of bonds and obligations was further extended.[8] From 1908 sheriffs dealt with juvenile offenders in juvenile courts until these were replaced by children’s hearings in 1971.[9]
In 2014 a Sheriff Appeal Court was established, and the judicial functions of the sheriff courts and their various officers (sheriffs principal, sheriffs and summary sheriffs) were re-defined.[10] Sheriff courts can deal with all criminal matters except murder, rape and treason, and hears all civil matters under a defined limit (currently £100,000) and can also hear all civil matters above that limit. Most appeals following sheriff court judgements go to the Sheriff Appeal Court but appeals in some civil cases go to the Court of Session and appeals in ‘solemn’ (ie: serious) criminal cases go to the High Court of Justiciary.
By 1700 there were 33 sheriffdoms and this has declined over time to, in 2023, six sheriffdoms operating 39 sheriff courts.
The records of sheriff courts are held by the National Records of Scotland (reference code SC).
Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2023)
Related Knowledge Base entries
Bibliography
Malcolm, C.A., ‘The Sheriff Court: Sixteenth Century and Later’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 356-62
Milne, Isabel A., ‘The Sheriff Court before the Sixteenth Century’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 350-55
National Records of Scotland Research Guide – Sheriff Court Records <https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/research-guides/research-guides-a-z/sheriff-court-records > [accessed 26 April 2024]
Scottish Record Office Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (Stair Society/HMSO, 1996)
The Laws of Scotland: The Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia 2nd re-issue Vol 6 (Butterworths, 2023)
Whetstone, Ann E., Scottish County Government in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (John Donald, 1981)
References
[1] Isabel A. Milne ‘The Sheriff Court before the Sixteenth Century’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History (Stair Society, 1958), pp.350-55 (p.350).
[2] Milne, ‘The Sheriff Court before the Sixteenth Century’ p.354.
[3] Circuit Courts (Scotland) Act 1709 (8 Anne c.16).
[4] Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 (20 Geo. II c.43).
[5] Commissary Courts (Scotland) Act, 1823 (4 Geo. IV c. 97); Court of Session Act, 1830 (11 Geo. IV c. 30).
[6] Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict. c.41); Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. 70); Fatal Accident Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1895 (57 & 58 Vict. c.36).
[7] Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1897 (59 & 60 Vict. c.37).
[8] Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act 1930 (c.37); Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act, 1907 (7 Edw. VII c. 51); Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act, 1971 (c.58).
[9] Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. VII c.67).
[10] Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 18).