Sources:  Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) Schedule 1; Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) 

Regional Councils, 1974-1996 

Borders Region 

Central Region 

Dumfries & Galloway Region 

Fife Region 

Grampian Region 

Highland Region 

Lothian Region 

Strathclyde Region 

Tayside Region 

District Councils, 1974-1996 

Where names were changed, the original names are shown in brackets. 

Islands Councils, 1974-present  

Orkney Islands 

Shetland Islands 

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (previously Western Isles) 

Councils, 1996-present (see also Islands Councils shown above) 

Where names were changed, the original names are shown in brackets. 

Sheriff Courts originated with the development of sheriffs and sheriffdoms during the 12^th 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 16^th 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 19^th and 20^th 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 20^th 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

Court records

Burgh courts

District courts

High Court of Justiciary

Court of Session

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://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20240326182511/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).

The presbytery is a church court in the presbyterian system of church government, and its role is to superintend ministers, Kirk Sessions and all spiritual matters within its bounds and to elect annually the ministers and elders to sit on the higher church courts. Presbyterian church government is based on a hierarchy of church courts: kirk session, presbytery, synod and general assembly are the four main courts, but some presbyterian churches omit synods and some smaller presbyterian churches only have one synod and therefore do not need a general assembly.[1]

Presbyteries are formed by the relevant General Assembly, which has the power to unite, disjoin and erect presbyteries and to change their boundaries. Each presbytery consists of ministers and elders. The ministers may include ordained missionaries, chaplains and retired ministers. A representative elder is elected by each kirk session within the bounds of the presbytery. Additional elders are elected by the presbytery in order to ensure that the number of ministers and elders in the presbytery are equal.

Presbyteries elect a moderator from amongst their membership, to hold office for a year. Until 1996, Church of Scotland presbyteries were required to elect an ordained minister as their moderator, but from then an elder or deacon could be elected.[2]

Ministers are subject to discipline through presbyteries and what might loosely be termed employment matters are normally dealt with by presbyteries, including calls, demissions, resignations, admission of candidates for ministry, the diaconate and the readership, ordination and trials for licence. Presbyteries carry out quinquennial visitations of congregations and examine their records. They also consider matters referred to them by Synods and General Assemblies, consider petitions and overtures including matters of public interest, and act as a court of appeal from kirk sessions.

The records of presbyteries of the Church of Scotland are held by National Records of Scotland (NRS) or by local archives under the charge and superintendence of NRS. NRS also holds some presbytery records for other presbyterian churches in Scotland. Further details can be found in the NRS online catalogue by searching for records beginning with the reference code CH and with the word presbytery in the description.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2023)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Kirk Sessions

Synods

Presbyterian Churches

Bibliography

Cox, James T., Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland (Church of Scotland, 1934, 1948, 1964, 1976)

MacLean, Marjory A. (ed), Legal Systems of Scottish Churches (Edinburgh University Press, 2010)

United Free Church of Scotland. General Assembly, Manual of practice and procedure of the United Free Church of Scotland (Offices of the United Free Church, 1905, 1916, 1927)

Weatherhead, James L., The constitution and laws of the Church of Scotland (Board of Practice and Procedure, Church of Scotland, 1997)

References

[1] Marjory A MacLean, ‘Presbyterian Governance’ in Legal Systems of Scottish Churches ed. by Marjory A. MacLean, (Edinburgh University Press, 2010) pp. 1-12.

[2] James L Weatherhead, The constitution and laws of the Church of Scotland (Board of Practice and Procedure, Church of Scotland, 1997) p. 97

The High Court of Justiciary, often referred to simply as the High Court, is the supreme criminal court in Scotland.[1]

The High Court had its origins in the office of king’s justice or justiciar, which emerged in the 12^th century. The justiciars held court in each sheriffdom, ‘on ayre’ (circuit), and in the 15^th century there were attempts to hold these more regularly.[2] These justice ayres heard both criminal and civil cases, including the four pleas of the crown (murder, robbery, rape and arson) and appeals from the sheriff courts. From the 14^th century there were two justiciars, covering the north and south of Scotland but in the early 16^th century these two offices were combined into the Lord Justice General and from 1524 the court was based in Edinburgh to hear criminal cases. Its effectiveness was limited by the power of local nobility, franchise courts as well as form the King and Privy Council. The Campbells, Earls and Dukes of Argyll, for example, held the office of Justiciar-General for the Sheriffdom of Argyll and Tarbert and the Hebridean Isles until 1748, having previously held the office of Lord Justice General on a hereditary basis.

The High Court of Justiciary was established as a separate court from the Court of Session in 1672 to hear criminal cases.[3] It consisted of the Lord Justice General, the Lord Justice Clerk and five Lords of Session, and it sat in Edinburgh but was to hold circuit courts annually, and from 1747, bi-annually. The circuits were initially set up to cover the north, sitting in Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness; the south, sitting in Dumfries and Jedburgh; and the west, sitting in Glasgow, Ayr and Stirling. This was adjusted in 1748 to include a sitting at Inverary as part of the western circuit, with Ayr moving into the southern circuit.  Sittings at Dundee were added to the northern circuit in 1881. After 1887, the Lord Advocate could call for special sittings of the High Court at any convenient time or place as required and this led to the effective demise of the bi-annual circuit system. Instead, the High Court sits in Edinburgh, Glasgow and other towns on circuit, as and when required.[4]

The High Court hears all murder, rape and treason cases and generally any criminal cases where the penalty on conviction is potentially more than the penalty that a sheriff court can impose. The High Court also acts as the court of appeal from the sheriff courts as well as from its own trials.

The records of the High Court are held by the National Records of Scotland and further details can be found in the NRS online catalogue by searching for the phrase ‘High Court of Justiciary’ (reference code JC).

Contributors: Elspeth Reid, Alison Rosie (2023)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Court records

Court of Session

Sheriff courts

Burgh courts

District courts

Bibliography

Scottish Record Office, Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996)

Dickinson, W. Croft, ‘The High Court of Justiciary’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed. by G. H. C. Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 408-12

Longmore, B., ‘The High Court of Justiciary Databases: a ‘Solemn Path’ through Crime’ Scottish Archives 10 (2004) pp. 39-54

National Records of Scotland Research Guide – Crime and Criminals <https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20240326182520/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/crime-and-criminals> [accessed 26 April 2024]

The Laws of Scotland: The Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia, 2nd re-issue Vol 6 (Butterworths, 2023)

References

[1] Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c.4); Scotland Act 2012 (c. 11) s. 35.

[2] W. Croft Dickinson, ‘The High Court of Justiciary’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed. by G. H. C. Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 408-12 (p. 408)

[3] Courts Act, 1672 (c.40).

[4] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict.c.35); Scottish Record Office Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996), pp. 120-22.

Fire authorities were established in 1947 and were responsible for oversight of fire brigades and appointment of the chief fire officers.  From 1947 until 1975 the fire authorities were the large burghs, counties and counties of cities which were required to work together within a joint committee for each of the ten designated areas and submit an administrative scheme to the Secretary of State for Scotland covering their arrangements for providing fire services, the relationship between fire authorities represented on the joint committee and other matters.[1]

In 1975, regional and islands councils were designated as the fire authorities.  The regional councils of Borders and Lothian formed a joint committee, as did the councils of Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles and Highland; while the other six regional councils were the fire authorities for their respective areas.[2] Under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 eight independent joint fire authorities were set up, covering the same geographical areas as before, with representation on their boards from the relevant unitary local authorities.[3] The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 removed fire services from local authority supervision and created a national service led by a Board of 10 members appointed by Scottish Ministers.[4]

Records of fire authorities before 2012 are generally found with the records of the local authority which provided administrative support. Copies may be held by the other local authorities which had representation on the fire authority.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2023)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Fire & Rescue Services

Bibliography

Blackstone, Geoffrey, A history of the British Fire Service (London: 1957)

Bell, James and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (MacLehose, 1896)

Ewen, Shane Fighting fires: creating the British fire service, 1800-1978 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

References

[1] Fire Services Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.41) s.36, Sch.4.

[2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.147.

[3] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act, 1994 (c.39).

[4] Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8)

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court in Scotland. Between 1707 and 2009 there was a further right of appeal to the House of Lords and since 2009 this right of appeal has been to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.  As a court of first instance (ie: hearing cases for the first time) the Outer House of the Court of Session hears the same range of civil cases as the sheriff courts but generally deals with more complex or high value cases (currently over £100,000) and also hears maritime cases.  As a court of appeal, the Inner House of the Court of Session hears civil cases from sheriff courts and from the Outer House of the Court of Session.

The Court of Session was first identified by this name in Article 19 of the Treaty of Union of 1707.[1] Its jurisdiction dates back well beyond this, however, and its formal foundation is generally attributed to the decision of a parliament of James V in 1532 to set up a permanent college of justice ‘for the doing and administration of justice in all civil actions’ consisting of 15 paid judges who became known as Lords of Council and Session.[2]

Very little is known of the administration of civil justice in the medieval period, but the records indicate a range of royal and parliamentary councils which moved with the royal court and which included some legal advisers.[3] The creation of the College of Justice in 1532 enabled the development of professional lawyers and centralised civil justice in Edinburgh.[4]

The division of the Court of Session into what became known as the Inner House and Outer House emerged during the regency of Mary of Guise, when preparatory work was dealt with separately from the court’s deliberations.  The administration of oaths and preparation of actions required the supervision of only a small number of judges in the outer parts of the building, while deliberations and decisions required the whole court sitting together.[5]

The Court of Session was reformed in 1808 by dividing the Inner House into a First Division headed by the Lord President and a Second Division headed by the Lord Justice-Clerk. With some adjustments this became a settled arrangement by 1825.[6] By 1868 the Outer House consisted of a several courts of first instance, while the Inner House consisted of two appeal courts.[7] This basic division between courts of first instance and courts of appeal has been maintained to date. In 1933 the Lord President was enabled to add a third division of the Inner House as and when needed.[8]  The numbers of judges were reduced to 13 in 1830, increased to 15 in 1948 and increased to a maximum of 24 in 1988.[9]

The jurisdiction of the Court of Session has been modified several times over its existence.  In 1672 it ceased to hear any criminal cases when the High Court of Justiciary was established.[10]  In 1830 the Admiralty Court, which had dealt with both criminal and civil cases relating to maritime contracts, salvage and crimes on the high seas, was abolished and its jurisdiction over maritime civil cases transferred to the Court of Session (while other matters were transferred to the sheriff courts).[11] The Jury Court, established in 1815 to deal with cases remitted to it by the Court of Session, was united with the Court of Session in 1830. That same year, cases relating to marriage, legitimacy and divorce were removed from the Commissary Courts to the Court of Session.[12] In 1856 the business of the Court of Exchequer, dealing with customs and excise, revenue and stamp duty, was absorbed by the Court of Session.[13] The Bill Chamber, which was set up as a vacation court in 1532, and which mainly dealt with bills and petitions to the Court of Session, was abolished in 1933 and its business merged with that of the Court of Session.[14]

Since 2009, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has replaced The House of Lords as the final court of appeal for cases from the Court of Session.[15]

The records of the Court of Session are held by the National Records of Scotland and further details can be found in the NRS online catalogue by searching for the Court of Session (reference code CS).

Contributors: Elspeth Reid, Alison Rosie (2023)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Court records

High Court of Justiciary

Sheriff courts

Burgh courts

District courts

Bibliography

Scottish Record Office Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996)

Cooper, Lord, of Culross, ‘The Central Courts after 1532’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed by G H C Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 341-49

Coutts Winifred, The Business of the College of Justice in 1600 (Stair Society, 2003)

Duncan, A.A.M., ‘The Central Courts before 1532’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed by G. H. C. Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 321-40

Hannay, R.K., The College of Justice (Stair Society, 1990)

The Laws of Scotland: The Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia, 2^nd re-issue Vol 6 (Butterworths, 2023)

References

[1] Union with England Act 1707 (c. 7).

[2] College of Justice Act, 1532 (c.2).

[3] Scottish Record Office Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996), p.101.

[4] Hector MacQueen, ‘Introduction’ in The College of Justice by R. K. Hannay, (Stair Society, 1990) pp. i-ii.

[5] R.K. Hannay The College of Justice (Stair Society 1990), pp.95-96.

[6] Cooper, Lord, of Culross, ‘The Central Courts after 1532’ in An Introduction to Scottish Legal History ed. by G. H. C. Paton (Stair Society, 1958), pp. 341-49 (p.343); Court of Session Act, 1825 (6 Geo. IV c. 120).

[7] Court of Session Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 100).

[8] Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1933 (23 & 24 Geo V c. 41).

[9] Court of Session Act 1830 (11 Geo. IV & 1 Will IV c. 69); Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act, 1948 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. VI c. 10); Court of Session At 1988 (c. 36).

[10] Courts Act 1672 (c.40).

[11] Court of Session Act 1830 (11 Geo. IV & 1 Will IV c. 69).

[12] Jury Trials (Scotland) Act 1815 (55 Geo. III c. 42); Court of Session Act 1830 (11 Geo. IV & 1 Will IV c. 69).

[13] Exchequer Court (Scotland) Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 56).

[14] Scottish Record Office Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996), pp. 113-14; Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1933 (23 & 24 Geo V c. 41).

[15] Act of Sederunt (Devolution Issues) (Appeals and References to the Supreme Court) 2009 (SSI 2009 No. 323).