Sheriff Appeal Court
| Sheriff Appeal Court | |
|---|---|
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Royal Court of Arms of the United Kingdom as used by the Courts in Scotland
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| Established |
Criminal: September 22, 2015 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Location | Parliament House, Edinburgh |
| Composition method | Appointed by the Lord President |
| Authorized by | Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 |
| Decisions are appealed to |
Criminal: Appeals on points of law to High Court of Justiciary |
| Judge term length | 5 years (except sheriffs principal who hold office ex officio) |
| Website | www.scotcourts.gov.uk |
Criminal: September 22, 2015
Criminal: Appeals on points of law to High Court of Justiciary
The Sheriff Appeal Court is court in Scotland that hears appeals from summary criminal proceedings in the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts, and hears appeals on bail decisions made in solemn proceedings in the sheriff court. The Sheriff Appeal Court also hears appeals in civil cases from the sheriff courts, including the Sheriff Personal Injury Court.
The Sheriff Appeal Court was established for criminal appeals on 22 September 2015, as part of Lord Gill’s Scottish Civil Courts Reforms, to deal with criminal appeals. The bench, there is no jury, generally comprises two or three appeal sheriffs depending on the type of appeal to be considered. Bail hearings are presided over by a single appeal sheriff. The criminal Court sits in the courthouse at Lawnmarket, Edinburgh.
The court's jurisdiction was extended to civil appeals on 1 September 2016, before that date civil appeals were heard either by the Sheriff Principal for each sheriffdom or by the Inner House of Court of Session.
The Sheriff Appeal Court's foundation was one of the results of, then Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill's Scottish Civil Courts Review (published in 2009), which identified several ways in which civil justice could be expedited through improving access to justice, reducing costs for parties litigant, and reducing the time to conclusion of cases. Lord Gill was critical of the civil justice system in place at the time, describing it as "a Victorian model that had survived by means of periodic piecemeal reforms", and concluding that, "It is failing the litigant and it is failing society."
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