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InScotland asheriff principal (pl. sheriffs principal) (Scottish Gaelic:àrd-siorram) is ajudge in charge of asheriffdom withjudicial,quasi-judicial, and administrative responsibilities. Sheriffs principal have been part of thejudiciary of Scotland since the 11th century. Sheriffs principal were originally appointed by themonarch of Scotland, and evolved into a heritable jurisdiction before appointment was again vested inthe Crown and themonarch of the United Kingdom following the passage of theHeritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746.
Under theSheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 (as amended), each sheriff principal is appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of theFirst Minister of Scotland, who is advised by theJudicial Appointments Board for Scotland.[1] As of May 2017 there were six sheriffs principal, each of whom has responsibility not only as a judge, but for theadministration of justice in their respective sheriffdoms. Sheriffs principal have to ensure the effective running of thesheriff courts andjustice of the peace courts within their jurisdiction. Following the passage of both theCourts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and theJudiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, sheriffs principal are subject to the authority and direction of theLord President of the Court of Session asHead of the Judiciary of Scotland.
Sheriffs principal hold additional judicial offices, including the Sheriff Principal ofLothian and Borders who isSheriff in Chancery, and President of theSheriff Personal Injury Court. All of the sheriffs principal are Appeal Sheriffs andex officio members of theSheriff Appeal Court.
Outside their judicial office, each sheriff principal holds several other officesex officio, includingCommissioner of Northern Lighthouses andGeneral Commissioner of Income Tax, with each sheriff principal having a ceremonial role in their respectivesheriffdom that means they outrank all butmembers of the royal family and theLord Lieutenant.
The history of the sheriffs principal in Scotland is much confused because over time different names were used to refer tosheriffs. Sheriffs principal are those sheriffs who have held office over asheriffdom, whether through inheritance or through direct appointment bythe Crown. Thus,hereditary sheriff (before 1746) andsheriff-depute (after 1746) are the precursors to the modern office of sheriff principal. The precursor to the modern office ofsheriff was historically referred to assheriff substitute.
David I,King of Scots from 1124 to 1153, appointed sheriffs as administrators and judges throughout Scotland. Such officers eventually became hereditary with asheriff-depute appointed to undertake the actual judicial work of the office. It is from these sheriffs that the modern day office of sheriffs principal derives, with a final settlement on the name by theSheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971. The modern day office of sheriff derives from the sheriffs-substitute that were appointed by the sheriffs-depute (now sheriffs principal.)[2][3]
In 1540 anAct of the Parliament of Scotland[which?] mandated that sheriffs principal (along withbailies andstewards) should "hold all their three head courts by themselves in proper person, unless they have a just and lawful excuse".[4] However, in the 16th century it appears that sheriffs-depute held office entirely at the will of the sheriffs principal, and undertook the vast majority of judicial work.[5]
In the 17th century, under the reign ofCharles II, the number of heritable sheriffs principal increased in recognition of hisrestoration to the throne. By 1700, 21 of the 33 sheriffs principal were hereditary.[6]
In the 18th century, the office of hereditary sheriff principal was abolished by theHeritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746,[7][8] with the sheriffs-depute assuming the role and office of sheriff principal.
Until about the middle of the 19th century there were 30 sheriffs principal. Of those sheriffs principal two (Glasgow andEdinburgh) were effectively full-time appointments while the remainder were part-time appointments filled by senioradvocates, who are members of theFaculty of Advocates. Over the years there was a gradual amalgamation ofsheriffdoms, with a consequential diminution in the number of sheriffs principal.[citation needed]
In the 20th century the sheriff principal hadappellate jurisdiction over summary causes incivil cases, with only cases that went to a fullproof (hearing) having a right of appeal to both the sheriff principal and the Court of Session.[9]
In 1971, theSheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 confirmed the naming of sheriffs principal (affirming that the office of sheriff depute should be known as sheriff principal), and thatsheriffs-substitute should be known assheriff, stating:[3]
4 Offices of sheriff principal and sheriff
(1) The office of sheriff (that is to say, the office known formerly as the office ofsheriff depute, but known immediately before the commencement of this Act as the office of sheriff) shall be known as the office ofsheriff principal, the office ofsheriff substitute shall be known as the office ofsheriff, and the office of honorary sheriff substitute shall be known as the office of honorary sheriff.
— Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971
The number of sheriffdoms was reduced to six in 1975 by the Sheriffdoms Reorganisation Order 1974, with all the prior sheriffdoms abolished and replaced by the following sheriffdoms:
with each sheriffdom presided over by a single sheriff principal.[10]
The sheriffdom boundaries were amended and the sheriffdoms redescribed by the Sheriffdoms (Alteration of Boundaries) Order 1996, which replaced the 1974 order. The only change to the boundaries was to move an area aroundChryston from the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin to the sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway.[11]
The work of a sheriff principal is partly judicial and partly administrative, consisting broadly of the following:[12]
A sheriff principal sometimes sits in criminal courts or conducts majorfatal accident inquiries. Following thepassage andcommencement of theCourts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 by theScottish Parliament sheriffs principal have satex officio as appeal sheriffs in theSheriff Appeal Court with jurisdiction over bothcivil andcriminalappeals.[13][14][15]
In terms of theSheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971, as reaffirmed by the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, sheriffs principal are charged with a number of duties in respect of the courts for which they are responsible, including in particular a duty “to secure the speedy and efficient disposal of business in the sheriff courts of that sheriffdom”.
In terms of theMerchant Shipping Act 1995 all of the sheriffs principal are Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses and serve on theNorthern Lighthouse Board.[16]
The Sheriff Principal ofLothian and Borders isSheriff of Chancery (disposes of petitions for rights ofsuccession to land andintestate estates; seeChancery (Scotland)).[12]: 7
A sheriff principal might serve as member of theScottish Civil Justice Council, the Advisory Council on Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, theCriminal Justice Forum, theSecurity Service Tribunal, theIntelligence Services Tribunal, and various other bodies.
| Sheriffdom | Sheriff principal | Main court |
|---|---|---|
| Glasgow and Strathkelvin | Sheriff Principal Aisha Y. Anwar | Glasgow Sheriff Court |
| Grampian, Highland and Islands | Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle | Inverness Sheriff Court |
| Lothian and Borders | Sheriff Principal Nigel Ross | Edinburgh Sheriff Court |
| North Strathclyde | Sheriff Principal Sean Murphy | Paisley Sheriff Court |
| South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway | Sheriff Principal Kate Dowdalls | Hamilton Sheriff Court |
| Tayside, Central and Fife | Sheriff Principal Gillian Wade[18] | Perth Sheriff Court |
By virtue of anOrder of Precedence established by KingEdward VII a sheriff principal, in his or her own sheriffdom, ranks in precedence immediately after the royal family. For that reason sheriffs principal are from time to time expected, and are occasionally commanded, to be present at royal and other ceremonial functions within their sheriffdoms.
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