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Asheriffdom is a judicial district inScotland, led by asheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series ofsheriff 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 thejudiciary of Scotland.
Sheriffdoms were originally identical to theshires of Scotland, originating in the twelfth century. Until the eighteenth century the office of sheriff was often hereditary, but this was ended following the unsuccessfulJacobite Rising of 1745. TheHeritable 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. TheSheriffs (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 substitute appointed to each "county, shire or stewartry".[1] The sheriff deputes, who were paid a salary by the Crown, were qualifiedadvocates and took charge of sheriff courts.[2] By the nineteenth century, the office of sheriff principal was an additional title held by thelord lieutenant of the county, and theCircuit Courts (Scotland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 29) redesignated sheriff deputes as simply "sheriffs".[3]
The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 also began the grouping of two or more counties under a single sheriffdom. This process continued so that by 1975 there were 12 sheriffdoms with only the county ofLanarkshire not combined.
New boundaries defined sheriffdoms in reference toregions, districts and islands areas which were then to be created on 16 May 1975.[4] This reduced the number of sheriffdoms to six.
The sheriffdoms were redefined again with effect from 1 April 1996, when newlocal government areas were created.[5] The boundaries of four sheriffdoms were unchanged. The boundaries of the other two were altered, so as to transfer an area aroundChryston from the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin to the sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. Elsewhere boundaries were simply redefined by reference to new local authority areas and electoral wards.[6]
Each sheriffdom has a full-timesheriff principal. Sheriffdoms are divided intosheriff court districts, each with one or moresheriff.