Sheriff principal

The office of sheriff principal is unique within the judicial structure of Scotland, and it cannot therefore readily be compared with any other judicial office. It is one of great antiquity, having existed continuously since around the 11th century. It has gradually developed over the centuries, and is still developing, into an office of some complexity and considerable weight.

The sheriff principal holds several other offices ex officio, including Sheriff of Chancery (disposes of petitions for rights of succession to land and intestate estates; see Chancery (Scotland)), Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses, General Commissioner of Income Tax, member of the Sheriff Court Rules Council, the Advisory Council on Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, the Criminal Justice Forum, the Security Service Tribunal, the Intelligence Services Tribunal, and various other bodies.

Until about the middle of the 19th century there were 30 sheriffs principal (or sheriffs, as they were then known). Of those sheriffs principal two (Glasgow and Edinburgh) were effectively full-time appointments while the remainder were part-time appointments filled by senior advocates; members of the Faculty of Advocates. Over the years there was a gradual amalgamation of sheriffdoms, with a consequential diminution in the number of sheriffs principal. The final amalgamation occurred in 1975 when Scotland was divided into six sheriffdoms, with each one presided over by a full-time sheriff principal. That remains the position at the present time.

The work of a sheriff principal is partly judicial and partly administrative, consisting broadly of the following:

In terms of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 all of the sheriffs principal are Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses and serve on the Northern Lighthouse Board.

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