Sheriff Principal

Eligibility

Eligibility for these judicial offices is set out in Section 14 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Immediately before the appointment you must:

  • Hold any other judicial office specified in Section 14, or
  • Be legally qualified (either as an Advocate or a Solicitor) for a period of 10 years.
Whilst holding any of the above offices, post-holders cannot engage directly or indirectly in any private practice or business, or be in partnership with or employed by, or act as an agent for, any person so engaged.  

The Office of Sheriff Principal

Sheriffs Principal may sit in any civil or criminal case in their sheriffdom.  Their primary judicial function is as an appellate judge in the Sheriff Appeal Court in respect of civil and summary criminal appeals.  The Court is usually chaired by a Sheriff Principal.  

The Lord President appoints Sheriffs Principal to the offices of President and Vice President of the Sheriff Appeal Court.

Decisions of the Sheriff Appeal Court are binding on itself (when constituted by an equal or smaller quorum) and all Sheriff and JP Courts.

Appeals can arise from any civil case, including commercial causes, family actions, adoption, personal injury litigation and licensing. Procedure in civil appeals is determined by the Sheriff Appeal Court Rules and Practice Note.

Criminal appeals (both sentence and conviction appeals) are presented in written form and supplemented by oral argument.  Appeals against conviction are heard by a bench of three appeal sheriffs and those against sentence by a bench of two.

All appeals require advance preparation. Some civil appeals are dealt with by way of written submissions, while others are heard by a Sheriff Principal sitting alone or by a bench of three or more appeal sheriffs.  Straightforward appeals may be disposed of on the day by way of an ex tempore decision.  Adequate reasons must be given.  More complicated appeals will go to avizandum and a written judgment has then to be prepared.  The Sheriff Appeal Court, whether sitting to hear criminal or civil appeals, will usually be chaired by a Sheriff Principal.

Sheriffs Principal have the responsibility of hearing appeals, arising in their own sheriffdoms, from the Mental Health Tribunal under section 320 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, from Licencing Boards under section 131 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and under section 22 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

Sheriffs Principal conduct significant Fatal Accident Inquiries. Their findings and recommendations can be highly influential, and lead to changes in the practice and procedure of many organisations.

A Sheriff Principal may conduct other inquiries or preside over tribunals under particular statutes. These include inquiries into constituency boundaries and matters such as the registration of residential homes and police disciplinary appeals.

The role of Sheriff Principal requires individuals with the intellectual and legal standing to perform the functions of the office. 

The Sheriff Principal requires knowledge and experience in the branch of the law in which they have regularly practised, but also their ability to work effectively in all branches of the law that may arise in the course of their judicial duties, including new or emerging areas. 

A Sheriff Principal is responsible to the Lord President for the disposal of business in their sheriffdom. It is the duty of each Sheriff Principal to manage the business in the sheriffdom, identify priorities and resolve problems that impact on the efficiency of the courts within their jurisdiction

Such duties include:

  • Arranging and confirming sitting dates and court holidays
  • Developing, approving and overseeing the administration of the sheriffdom court programme and the allocation of sheriffs/summary sheriffs to each court to secure its implementation
  • Ensuring the pastoral care, welfare and development of sheriffs and summary sheriffs is maintained.  This includes career development, responses to consultation requests from the Judicial Appointments Board and input to the internal transfer of shrieval resources across Scotland.
  • Ensuring that the shrieval complement in the sheriffdom is adequate and properly deployed
  • Allocating sheriffs/summary sheriffs to particular specialisms
  • Addressing the demands of the High Court of Justiciary for temporary judges and Tribunals for shrieval assistance, including the impact of their deployment on the resources of the sheriffdom
  • Regulating shrieval leave; and dealing with exceptional requests for leave
  • Dealing with requests for leave of absence to engage in official activities such as judicial training, meetings with local authorities and other agencies and conferences
  • Managing the deployment of sheriffs and summary sheriffs in the courts in the sheriffdom and ensuring shrieval cover is available to cover the programmed business, including the use and deployment of part-time and retired sheriffs.
  • Monitoring cases at avizandum, dealing with requests for writing time and taking steps to address delays in the production of written decisions
  • Meeting and liaising with representatives of relevant organisations, whether at national, regional or local level, to discuss levels of business, anticipated developments and the most efficient use of court time 

The Sheriff Principal may be appointed as Nominated Judge to deal with complaints against judicial office holders, within and beyond their sheriffdom.

The Sheriff Principal will deal with requests from outside agencies (e.g. schools, Law Faculties, TV and film companies) for the use of court facilities, for example for debating competitions or filming. 

The Sheriffs Principal are frequently invited to speak on a range of legal topics at local and national events. 

Sheriffs Principal have responsibility for the administration of the Justice of the Peace Courts within the sheriffdom by virtue of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007. The responsibilities include selecting those persons who will sit on the Sheriffdom JP Advisory Committee (with responsibility for recruitment), and the Sheriffdom Training and Appraisal Committees. The Sheriff Principal chairs the JP Advisory Committee  which requires to meet regularly to monitor patterns of business and JP availability. He or she also has a responsibility for interviewing and recommending the appointment of Justices of the Peace

In addition to their responsibilities within the sheriffdom and on Sheriff Appeal Court bench, Sheriffs Principal may be appointed by the Lord President to sit on a variety of boards and committees, including

  • The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
  • The Rules Council
  • The Scottish Civil Justice Council and its committees
  • The Scottish Sentencing Council and/or its committees
  • The Parole Board for Scotland
  • The Board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
  • SCTS working groups
  • Court user groups
  • Criminal justice bodies
  • Research groups

Sheriffs Principal are expected to work collegiately, including fellow Sheriffs Principal, appeal sheriffs and the Lord President and Lord Justice Clerk.

Any judicial post holder must possess a range of personal and judicial qualities in order to successfully perform the functions of the office.  A link to further information about these qualities is [attached].

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