The Courts of Scotland are the civil, criminal and heraldic courts responsible for the administration of justice in Scotland. They are constituted and governed by Scots law. The Faculty of Advocates is the collective term by which what in England are called barristers are known in Scotland. ... It has been suggested that Barrister#Advocates in Scotland be merged into this article or section. ... The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors, based in Edinburgh. ... A solicitor is a type of lawyer in many common law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Canada and some States of Australia but not the United States. ... In the common law, civil law refers to the area of law governing relations between private individuals. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of common law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... Heraldry is the art and science of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats-of-arms (also referred to as armorial bearings or simply as arms). Its origins lie in the need to distinguish participants in battles or jousts, whose faces were hidden by steel helmets. ... This article is about courts of law. ... Lady Justice - allegory of Justice as woman with sword and with book - statue at court building. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Scots law (or Scottish law) is the law of Scotland. ...

The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system - England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. There are exceptions to this rule, for example in immigration law, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal's jurisdiction covers the whole of the United Kingdom, while in employment law there is a single system of Employment Tribunals for England, Wales and Scotland (but not Northern Ireland). The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system — England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. ... The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal(AIT) is a tribunal constituted in the United Kingdom with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration decisions. ... Employment law is the branch of the law that deals with employment related issues. ...

Civil Courts

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the highest civil court of appeal for the United Kingdom. In practice, only the Law Lords hear the appeals. It was abolished by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, but an election was held before the act came into force, and the new Parliament amended the act to preserve the House of Lords' judicial function. The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, has a judicial function as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. ... The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, has a judicial function as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. ... The Judicature Act 1873 was an Act of Parliament by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. ...

Court of Session

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House in Edinburgh. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court in Scotland. ... The Court of First Instance, created in 1989, is a court of the European Union. ... An appeal is the act or fact of challenging a judicially cognizable and binding judgment to a higher judicial authority. ... The Robert Reid designed facade to Parliament Square Parliament House in Edinburgh, Scotland was home to the Scottish Parliament, and is now used by the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session. ... For other uses, see Edinburgh (disambiguation). ...

Sheriff Court

The Sheriff Court is the other Scottish civil court; this sits locally. Although the Court of Session and Sheriff Courts have a largely co-extensive jurisdiction, with the choice of court being given in the first place to the pursuer (the claimant), the majority of difficult or high-value cases in Scotland are brought in the Court of Session. The Sheriff Courts are the local Court system in Scotland. ... A pursuer in Scotland is the party who initiates a lawsuit before a Court of Scotland. ... A plaintiff, also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. ...

Any final decision of a Sheriff may be appealed. There is a right of appeal in civil cases to the Sheriff Principal, and in most cases onwards to the Court of Session. The office of sheriff principal is unique within the judicial structure of the United Kingdom, and it cannot therefore readily be compared with any other judicial office. ...

Criminal Courts

High Court of Justiciary

The High Court of Justiciary is Scotland's supreme criminal court. Seal of the High Court of Justiciary © Crown Copyright The High Court of Justiciary is Scotlands supreme criminal court. ...

The High Court is both a court of first instance and also a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House in Edinburgh, but also sits from time to time in various other places in Scotland. As a court of appeal, it sits only in Edinburgh.

Appeals may be made to the High Court of Justiciary sitting as the Court of Criminal Appeal from the lower courts in criminal cases. An appeal may also be made to the High Court if the High Court itself heard the case at first instance. Two judges sit to hear an appeal against sentence, and three judges sit to hear an appeal against conviction.

There is no further appeal from the High Court's decision on appeal, in contrast to the Court of Session, from which it is possible to appeal to the House of Lords, the UK's highest court. However, appeals under the Human Rights Act 1998 and devolution appeals under the Scotland Act 1998 are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The members of the Judicial Committee also sit in the House of Lords as the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The Human Rights Act 1998 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which received Royal Assent on November 9, 1998, and came into force on October 2, 2000. ... The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster. ... The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. ...

Sheriff Court

The Sheriff Court is the main Scottish criminal court; this sits locally. The procedure followed may either be solemn, where the Sheriff sits with a Jury of 15, or summary, where the Sheriff sits alone. The maximum penalty which may be imposed is 3 months' imprisonment or a £5,000 fine (in summary cases) or 5 years' imprisonment or an unlimited fine (in solemn cases). A jury is a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial verdict and a finding of fact on a legal question officially submitted to them, or to set a penalty or judgment in a jury trial of a court of law. ...

A higher sentence in solemn cases may be imposed upon reference to the High Court of Justiciary.

District Court

District Courts were introduced in 1975 and sit in each local authority area under summary procedure only. Each court comprises one or more Justices of the Peace (lay magistrates) who sit alone or in threes with a qualified legal assessor as convener or clerk of court. They handle cases of breach of the peace, drunkenness, minor assaults, petty theft, and offences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The maximum penalty which may be imposed is 60 days' imprisonment or a £2,500 fine. District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... A Justice of the Peace (JP) is someone appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. ...

Court Reform

The Scottish Executive has announced its intention to unify the management of the Sheriff and District courts in Scotland, but retaining lay Justices. The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 28 February 2006. If enacted, this Bill would replace District Courts by "Justice of the Peace Courts". The term Scottish Executive is used in two distinct but closely related senses. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Special courts and tribunals

Scotland has several specialised courts and tribunals.

Tribunals

Tribunals sit in judgement over a number of specialist areas, and frequently have appeals tribunals above them. For example, the Employment Tribunals (appeals to Employment Appeals Tribunal), VAT Tribunals, Lands Tribunal, etc. British labour law is that body of law which regulates the rights, restrictions obligations of trade unions, workers and employers in Britain. ...

In many cases there is a statutory right of appeal from a tribunal to a particular court or specially constituted appellate tribunal, for example Employment Tribunal cases are appealed to the Employment Appeals Tribunal, which in turn allows appeals to the Court of Session. In the absence of a specific appeals court, the only remedy from a decision of a Tribunal is by judicial review in the Court of Session, which will often be more limited in scope than an appeal. Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or for the violation of basic principles of justice. ...

• Tribunals
  • Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
  • Employment Tribunal
  • VAT and Duties Tribunal
  • Pensions Appeal Tribunals for Scotland
  • Office of the Social Security Commissioners
  • Office of the Public Guardian

The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal(AIT) is a tribunal constituted in the United Kingdom with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration decisions. ... British labour law is that body of law which regulates the rights, restrictions obligations of trade unions, workers and employers in Britain. ...

Children's Hearings

The specialist system of Children's Hearings in Scotland handles the majority of cases involving allegations of criminal conduct involving persons under 16 in Scotland. These tribunals have wide ranging powers to issue supervision orders for the person referred to them by the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. Serious crimes, at the direction of the Procurator Fiscal, are still dealt with in the usual criminal courts. Children’s Hearings are part of the legal and welfare systems in Scotland; they combine justice and welfare for children and young people. ... The procurator fiscal is the local public prosecutor in Scotland. ...

Court of the Lord Lyon

Scotland has a standing court of heraldry and genealogy - the Court of the Lord Lyon which is responsible for civil and criminal enforcement of armorial bearings and the right to use certain titles in Scotland. It is headed by the Lord Lyon who is King of Arms and senior herald for Scotland. The Court of the Lord Lyon, also know as Lyon Court, is the institution which regulates heraldry in Scotland. ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ... Arms of the Office of the Lord Lyon The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that kingdom, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the oldest Heraldic court in the world that...

Other courts

• Court-martial

• Land
  • Scottish Land Court - agricultural tenancies and crofting rights
  • Lands Tribunal for Scotland - title and land obligations

A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ...

Relationship with the European Court of Justice

Contrary to popular belief, there is no right to appeal at any stage in UK court proceedings to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Any court in the UK may refer a particular point of law relating to European Union law to the ECJ for determination. However, once the ECJ has given its interpretation, the case is referred back to the court that referred it. This is symptomatic of the fact that although the European Union is increasingly federal, there is no federal court system, just laws that must be interpreted the same way across all member states. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ... The European Union is unique among international organisations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ...

The decision to refer a question to the ECJ can be made by the court of its own initiative, or at the request of any of the parties before it. Where a question of European law is in doubt and there is no appeal from the decision of a court, it is required to refer the question to the ECJ; otherwise any referral is entirely at the discretion of the court.

See also

• Scots Law
• European Union Law
• List of United Kingdom topics

Scots law (or Scottish law) is the law of Scotland. ... The European Union is unique among international organisations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ... Shortcut: UK topics This is a list of topics related to the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Scottish Court Service
• Scottish Executive
• Faculty of Advocates
• Law Society of Scotland
• Jurisdiction of Scottish courts
• Scottish Legal Aid Board
• Judicial Appointments Board
• Judicial Appointments Board description of post of Sheriff
• Organisation of justice in Scotland (pdf)

	Topics on Scotland
History	Timeline | Prehistoric Scotland | Scotland in the High Middle Ages | Wars of Scottish Independence | Scottish Enlightenment | Colonisation | Acts of Union 1707 | Jacobitism | Highland Clearances | Lowland Clearances
Politics	Political parties | Elections | Scottish Parliament | Scottish Executive | First Minister of Scotland | Secretary of State for Scotland | Scotland Office
Law	Courts of Scotland | Lord President | Crown Office | Lord Advocate | Solicitor General | Procurator Fiscal
Geography	Geology | Climate | Mountains and hills | Islands | Lochs
Economy	Companies | Bank of Scotland | Royal Bank of Scotland | North Sea oil | Scotch whisky | Tourism | Harris Tweed
Demographics	Scottish Gaelic language | Scots language | Scottish English | Highland English | Burghs
Culture	Education | Sport | Hogmanay | Innovations & discoveries
Symbols	Flags (National Flag | Royal Standard) | Royal Arms (UK | Scottish) | Tartan | Bagpipes | Tartan Day