Asheriff is agovernment official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties toEngland where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office inIceland, thesýslumaður, which is commonly translated to English assheriff.
InBritish English, the political or legal office of a sheriff, term of office of a sheriff, or jurisdiction of a sheriff, is called a shrievalty[1] in England and Wales, and asheriffdom[2] in Scotland.
In modern times, the specific combination of legal, political and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.
TheOld English term designated a royal official, a reeve, responsible for managing ashire or county on behalf of the king. The term is a contraction of "shirereeve" (Old Englishscīrgerefa).[4][5][6]
The sheriff had a series of duties that included keeping the peace and providingmen at arms to support the king in times of strife. Another important duty was the collection of taxes on behalf of the crown. This process involved each division of the county (known as thehundred) payinggeld (a form of land tax). To assess how much people had to pay, a clerk and a knight were sent by the king to eachcounty. They sat with the sheriff of the county and with a select group of localknights (two knights from each hundred). After it was determined what geld was to be paid, the knights of the hundred and the bailiff of the hundred were responsible for getting the money to the sheriff, and the sheriff was responsible for getting the money to theExchequer.[7]
Sheriffs loyal to certain nobles could and did sabotage the careers ofknights against whom they, or a noble they were loyal to, bore a grudge.[8] Groups of sheriffs with significant connections had morede facto power in the legal system than most English knights, despite their lack of land.[8]
The term and duties were preserved in England even after theNorman Conquest. However, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the role evolved over the centuries. In modern times the sheriff orhigh sheriff is a ceremonial county or city official. Some commercial organisations use the term to refer toHigh Court enforcement officers,[9] who were known assheriff's officers prior to 2004.
InScotland the sheriff is ajudicial office holder in thesheriff courts, and they are members of thejudiciary of Scotland.[10]
The most senior sheriffs are thesheriffs principal, who have administrative as well as judicial authority in the sixsheriffdoms, and are responsible for the effective running and administration of all the sheriff courts in their jurisdiction. Sheriffs principal also sit as appeal sheriffs in theSheriff Appeal Court; hearing appeals againstsentencing andconviction fromsummary trials in the sheriff courts andjustice of the peace courts.[11] The additional duties of a sheriff principal include beingCommissioners of the Northern Lighthouse Board (which is thegeneral lighthouse authority for Scotland), and chairing local criminal justice boards which bring together local representatives ofprocurator fiscal,Police Scotland andCommunity Justice Scotland, andScottish Courts and Tribunals Service.[12][13]
Sheriffs deal with the majority of civil and criminal court cases in Scotland, with the power to preside insolemn proceedings with ajury of 15 forindictable offences and sitting alone in summary proceedings forsummary offences. A sheriff must belegally qualified, and have been qualified as anadvocate orsolicitor for at least 10 years. The maximum sentencing power of sheriff in summary proceedings is 12 monthsimprisonment, or afine of up to £10,000. In solemn proceedings the maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment, or an unlimited fine.[10]
Sheriffs also preside overfatal accident inquiries which are convened to examine the circumstances around sudden or suspicious deaths, including those who die in the course of employment, incustody, or in secure accommodation.[14][15]
Summary sheriffs hearcivil cases brought under Simple Procedure and criminal cases brought under summary proceedings. Their sentencing powers are identical to a sheriff sitting in summary proceedings.[16]
In the Republic of Ireland, a sheriff (Irish:sirriam[17]) is appointed under section 12(3) of the Court Officers Act 1945, to perform some of the functions that would otherwise be performed by thecounty registrar.[18][19][20] In practice, two types of sheriff have been appointed:[18]
Four sheriffs (one each forDublin city,County Dublin,Cork city, andCounty Cork) are full-time public officials whose responsibilities are:[18][20][21][22]
Fourteen sheriffs, colloquially called "Revenue sheriffs", have only the third of the preceding functions, the others being done by the county registrar's office.[18][23][24][25] Revenue sheriffs aresolicitors in private practice. Each covers aBailiwick, which consist of one or more ofthe state's remaining counties. The Bailiwicks are grouped by counties as follows:Carlow andKildare;Cavan,Leitrim,Longford andMonaghan;Clare andLimerick;Donegal;Galway;Kerry;Kilkenny andWaterford;Laois,Offaly andTipperary;Louth,Meath andWestmeath;Mayo;Roscommon andSligo; andWexford andWicklow.[23]
Prior to the 1922 creation of theIrish Free State, Irish law regarding sheriffs mirrored that of England,[18] latterly with eachadministrative county andcounty borough having a ceremonialhigh sheriff and functionalunder-sheriffs responsible for enforcing court orders of thecounty court orquarter sessions.[18] TheCourts of Justice Act 1924 replaced these courts with a new circuit court.[26] The Court Officers Act 1926 formally abolished high sheriffs and phased out under-sheriffs by providing that, as each retired, his functions would be transferred to the county registrar, established by the 1926 act as an officer of the circuit court.[18][27] When the Dublin city under-sheriff retired in 1945, the city registrar was too overworked with other responsibilities to take over his duties, so the Court Officers Act 1945 was passed to allow a new office of sheriff to take over some or all of the under-sheriff's functions.[18][19] The four Dublin and Cork sheriffs were soon appointed, with much of the under-sheriff's responsibilities.[18] Revenue sheriffs were introduced for the rest of the state in the late 1980s as part of a crackdown ontax evasion.[18][23] In 1993 thecomptroller and auditor general expressed concern that funds collected and held in trust by sheriffs on behalf of the revenue commissioners were at risk ofcommingling.[28] This was reformed in 1998 by prohibiting sheriffs from retaining the interest earned on such monies and, to compensate, increasing theirretainer.[29] Through to the 1990s the sheriff's post was in the gift of theminister for justice, but by the 2010s it was advertised by thePublic Appointments Service.[29][21][22] A 1988Law Reform Commission report made recommendations for updating the 1926 law on sheriffs;[30] as of 2023[update] few of these had been implemented, and the government began a review of the role of sheriffs in state work.[31]
Under section 12(5) of the Court Officers Act 1945, an appointee for sheriff must be either:
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Among cities inIndia, onlyMumbai (Bombay),Kolkata (Calcutta) andChennai (Madras), the three former British presidencies, have had sheriffs. First established in the 18th century based on the English high sheriffs, they were the executive arm of the judiciary, responsible for assembling jurors, bringing people to trial, supervising the gaoling (imprisonment) of prisoners and seizing and selling property. After the mid-19th century the responsibilities and powers of the role were reduced and the positions became ceremonial. The sheriffs of Mumbai and Kolkata still exist, although the post inChennai was abolished in 1998.
In present times the sheriff has an apolitical, non-executive role, presides over various city-related functions and conferences and welcomes foreign guests. The post is second to the mayor in the protocol list.
In thePhilippines, a formercolony of the United States, the office of sheriff also exists. The duties of a sheriff are to primarily serve all writs, execute all processes, and carry into effect all decisions and orders issued by the courts. Sheriffs execute process without attempting to determine their validity.[32]
A sheriff's office exists in mostAustralian states and territories, with various duties.
Sheriffs in New Zealand are officers of the Superior Courts and function as the executive arm of these courts. The role of sheriff is automatically given to anyone who has gained the position of Registrar of the High Court.
Every province and territory in Canada operates a sheriffs service. In most of Canada, sheriffs are almost exclusively concerned with courtroom security, post-arrest offender transfer, the serving of legal processes, and the execution of civil judgments.[38][39][40] Regardless of their exact duties, sheriffs, sheriff's deputies, and sheriffs officers are considered under "peace officers" in theCriminal Code.[41]
TheAlberta Sheriffs Branch is responsible for courtroom and legislative security, offender transport, commercial vehicle safety and enforcement, and fish and wildlife enforcement.[42][43] In addition to this uniquely broad mandate, the Branch operates a highway patrol, which supplements local and RCMP policing on provincial highways.[44]
In 2019, sheriffs began to respond to 9-1-1 calls in rural areas to assist the RCMP and local police services in responding to rural crime concerns.[45] In 2023, the province piloted a program that saw sheriffs patrol alongside municipal police officers inCalgary andEdmonton.[46]
TheBritish Columbia Sheriff Service is responsible for courtroom security and offender transport.[47]
The issuance of court orders is the responsibility of court bailiffs. These services are contracted out to private civil law enforcement firms.[48]
The Office of the High Sheriff of Newfoundland and Labrador provides protection and enforcement duties in support of the provincial, supreme, and appeal courts in the province.[49][50] The sheriffs also assists local law enforcement agencies with additional resources to ensure public safety under the provincial Emergency Preparedness Program.
In Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Sheriff Services focuses on the safety and security of the judiciary, court staff, the public, and persons in custody. There are local sheriffs for every county in Nova Scotia, numbering over 200 in total. They work with up to 20,000 inmates and travel over 2 million kilometres in a year. Sheriffs are responsible for: court security; the transportation of prisoners to and from institutions and all levels of court; the service of some civil and criminal documents; and the execution of court orders.[51]
In Ontario, sheriffs are part of the Enforcement Office in theSuperior Court of Justice, which was previously named (and is still sometimes referred to as) the Sheriff's Office. They are mainly responsible for issuing and enforcing writs of the court, such as in jury selection, debt collection and evictions.[52] Courtroom security and offender transport services are provided by local police services or, where none exists, theOntario Provincial Police.[53]
Sheriffs (shérifs) are responsible for the jury selection process.[54] They handle court orders, orders, and writs while they are involved in seizure and sale of property.[55]
Court security is the responsibility of armed provincialspecial constables, while offender transport is the responsibility of the province's correction service.
The sheriff is most often an elected county official who serves as the chief civilianlaw enforcement officer of their jurisdiction.[56][57] The sheriff enforces court orders and mandates and may perform duties such asevictions, seizing property and assets pursuant to court orders, and servingwarrants andlegal papers. In some counties where urban areas have their ownpolice departments, a sheriff may be restricted tocivil procedure enforcement duties, while in other counties, the sheriff may serve as the principalpolice force and have jurisdiction over all of the county'smunicipalities, including those that maintain their ownmunicipal police departments.[57] A sheriff often administers the county jails and is responsible for court security functions within their jurisdiction.[56] The office of sheriff as county official incolonial North America is recorded from the 1640s.[58]In the modern United States, the scope of a sheriff varies acrossstates andcounties (which inLouisiana are called "parishes" and inAlaska "boroughs").
In South Africa, the sheriffs are officers of the court and function as the executive arm of the court. They are responsible for serving court processes like summonses and subpoenas. They play an important role in the execution of court orders like the attachments of immovable and movable property; evictions, demolitions etc.
The Sheriffs Act 90 of 1986, which came into operation on 1 March 1990, governs the profession. A sheriff is appointed by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development in terms of Section 2 of the Act.[59]
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InNorway until 2021 there was the office oflensmann, which in their mostly rural police districts had functions similar to those of a US sheriff, consisting of the duties ofcivilian as well as criminal peace officers.[clarification needed]
Thelensmann was directly subordinate to thefylkesmann (county governor) until 1994, when the office became subordinate to the local chief of police (politimester). In 2000, a lot of civilian duties were transferred to the regular police (politi), and much of the difference between thepoliti andlensmann disappeared. The office is now calledpolitistasjonssjef (police station chief), or in some placespolitiavdelingssjef (police unit chief).
Because the police has taken over most typical 'sheriffs' duties from the year 2000 onwards, there is no longer a difference between the former rank of a "sheriff's deputy" (lensmannsbetjent) and that of a regular police officer (politibetjent).
The lensmann has been elected by themunicipal council since the year 1293[dubious –discuss], but was nominated by thesysselmann, the appointed governor.
InIceland,sýslumenn (singularsýslumaður, translated "sheriff")[60] are administrators of thestate, holders of theexecutive power in theirjurisdiction and heads of their Sheriff's Office. Sheriffs are in charge of certain legal matters that typically involve registration of some sort and executing the orders of the court. The duties of the sheriffs differ slightly depending on their jurisdiction but they can be broadly categorised as:
There are 24 sheriffs and sheriff jurisdictions in Iceland. The jurisdictions are not defined by theadministrative divisions of Iceland but are mainly a mixture ofcounties andmunicipalities.
The post of sheriff was mandated by theOld Covenant, an agreement between theIcelandic Commonwealth and theKingdom of Norway. The agreement which was ratified between 1262 and 1264 makes the post of sheriff the oldest secular position of government still operating in Iceland.[64]
34) The sheriff is required to make certain findings and is empowered to make recommendations to avoid a recurrence of the incident.
Sýslumanna er fyrst getið hérlendis í einu handriti að sáttmála þeim sem Íslendingar gerðu við Noregskonung og öðlaðist staðfestingu á árunum 1262 til 1264 og síðar var nefndur Gamli sáttmáli, en með sáttmála þessum má segja að Íslendingar hafi gerst þegnar Noregskonungs. Eru sýslumenn elstu veraldlegu embættismenn sem enn starfa hérlendis og hafa alla tíð verið mikilvægur hluti stjórnsýslunnar.
