Sheriff Court
The majority of cases are dealt with in Scotland’s Sheriff Courts. In summary procedure, criminal cases are heard by a Sheriff alone. Scotland is split into six Sheriffdoms, each of which has a Sheriff Principal that has responsibility for courts within that Sheriffdom.
These Sheriffdoms are:
- Glasgow and Strathkelvin
- Grampian, Highland and Islands
- Lothian and Borders
- North Strathclyde
- South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway
- Tayside, Central and Fife
More information is available here.
In summary business there were:
- 15,787 trials scheduled as at the end of 2024/25, a decrease of 24% when compared with the volume scheduled as at the end of 2023/4 (20,644).
The most recent data shows that in 2023/24, Sheriff Court summary business saw:
- a 6% decrease in the volume of complaints registered, from 65,357 in 2023/24 to 61,606 in 2024/25.
- a 4% reduction in cases called for trial compared to the previous year, from 50,466 in 2023/24 to 48,360 in 2024/25.
- a decrease in the number of evidence led trials by 10% to 5,746 in 2023/24 compared to 6,380 in 2022/23.
- 66,950 complaints concluded in 2024/25 which is an increase of 5% compared to the volume concluded in 2023/24 (63,910).
You can find more information here.
Practice Notes are issued by the Lord Justice General, Scotland’s most senior judge, in respect of criminal courts. They inform practitioners of the practice that the court expects them to take. These practice notes can be found here.
Scottish Court and Tribunal Service publications, including Corporate, Court and Court Users and People documents are available here for further information.