Scotland’s Legal System

Although Scotland is England’s neighbor, and both countries are part of the United Kingdom, Scotland, to a large extent, has a separate judicial system and a separate law. This paper will first examine Scotland’s judicial system and then consider Scotland’s unique law that in the future may help serve as a model in the European Union.

Scotland’s Judicial System

The Scottish court that has been described both as the most generally useful and important civil court, and as the most practically important of Scottish courts is the Sheriff Court. Scotland is divided into six Sheriffdoms, each Sheriffdom having a Sheriff Principal who not only hears appeals in civil manners, but also is responsible for the conduct of the courts. The six Sheriffdoms have a total of 49 Sheriff Courts, and in each Sheriff Court most cases are heard by a judge called a “sheriff.”

During the reign of David I in the twelfth century, the king appointed sheriffs as judges and administrators; these sheriffs held Sheriff Courts to administer justice. For a time, the office of sheriff was hereditary, and a sheriff customarily appointed