, type = , seal = , logo =

250px 5 (five) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typ ...

, logo_caption = , formed = , jurisdiction =

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, headquarters = Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD , employees = 1,374 , budget = £129.3 million (2015-2016) , chief1_name = Lord Carloway , chief1_position = Chairman , chief2_name = Eric McQueen , chief2_position = Chief Executive , chief3_name = , chief3_position = , chief4_name = , chief4_position = , chief5_name = , chief5_position = , chief6_name = , chief6_position = , chief7_name = , chief7_position = , chief8_name = , chief8_position = , chief9_name = , chief9_position = , parent_department = , child1_agency =

Judicial Office for Scotland The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, child2_agency = Office of the Public Guardian , child3_agency =

Office of the Accountant of Court The Office of the Accountant of Court is a public body which is a constituent part of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. The Accountant of Court is administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Based in Falkirk, the office of Accou ...

, website = , map = Scotland in the UK and Europe.svg , map_caption = Scotland in the UK and Europe , footnotes = , agency_type= Non-ministerial government department , agency_name = Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service , logo_width = 110px The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) is an independent public body which is responsible for the administration of the

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

and tribunals of Scotland. The Service is led by a board which is chaired by the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

, and employs over 1000 staff members in the country's 39 sheriff courts, 34

justice of the peace courts A justice of the peace court is the least authoritative type of criminal court in Scotland. The court operates under summary procedure and deals primarily with less serious criminal offences. History The commission of the peace was originally ...

, the Court of Session and the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cour ...

, and at the service's headquarters in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The day-to-day administration of the service is the responsibility of its Chief Executive and Executive Directors. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is also responsible for providing administrative services for the

, the Office of the Public Guardian, the Accountant of Court, the Criminal Courts Rules Council, and the Scottish Civil Justice Council.

History

The Service was first established as the ''Scottish Courts Administration'' in 1995, as an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or N ...

of the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

. It was later renamed ''Scottish Court Service.'' In 1999, the Service became an agency of the Scottish Government after responsibility of the

and judiciary of Scotland were transferred under devolution. In common with the

Scottish Prison Service The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions. The Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, currently Teresa Medhurst, is responsible f ...

in the Scottish justice system, this ''arm's length approach'' was adopted to prevent direct ministerial involvement in the administration of justice. On 1 April 2010 it was re-established by section 60 of the

Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2008 to reform the courts of Scotland, to give statutory force to judicial independence, and to establish the Lord President of the Court of Sessio ...

as an independent body corporate governed by a Corporate Board and chaired by the Lord President, the head of the Scottish judiciary. On 1 April 2015, under the

Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 The Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2014 to improve access to the civil justice system and while making the Court of Session a place for the more complex cases. History The Bill was introd ...

, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service assumed the responsibilities of the former Scottish Court Service and Scottish Tribunals Service. Security and maintenance of SCTS buildings are provided by Servest who are a company that provides multi functions in building management. On 3 April 2018, the Glasgow Tribunals Centre opened to the public. The building houses all Tribunal teams based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

alongside Glasgow based teams of

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals ...

. The building also contains bespoke hearing suites for

and The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service.

Functions

The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 resulted in the unification of the administration of the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, Sheriff and Justice of the Peace courts. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has the function of providing, or ensuring the provision of, the property, services, officers and other staff required for the purposes of all these courts (by virtue of section 61(1) of the 2008 Act). It has the responsibility of assisting the Scottish judiciary (by virtue of section 61(1)(b) of the 2008 Act), and assists the Lord President in his role as head of the Scottish judiciary (section 62 of the 2008 Act). This is coupled with assisting the Criminal Courts Rules Council and th
Scottish Civil Justice Council
The Service is also responsible for the administration of the Office of the Public Guardian, based in Falkirk, and assists the Accountant of Court (sections 62 and 33 of the 2008 Act). Another consequence of the Act was the introduction of ''Fines Enforcement Officers''. With effect from 10 March 2008 these officers, staff of SCS, will bring a more proactive approach to fines enforcement. A total of 31 members of staff will have responsibility for making sure that fines are paid on time and if offenders fall into arrears with payment those staff will use a variety of means to secure payment. Special measures that may be used will include deductions from state benefits; arrestment of wages and/or funds contained in bank accounts and seizure (and subsequent sale) of vehicles. In cases where it becomes apparent that the offender genuinely cannot pay they will be provided with contact details for other Agencies that will be able to provide guidance and help in organising the offender's finances.

Leadership and administration

Board

The membership of the corporate Board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is determined by Schedule 3 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, which stipulates that the following are members, ''ex officio'': * Lord President (''judicial member'') *

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

(''judicial member'') * President of the Scottish Tribunals (''judicial member'') * Chief Executive of the Service There are a further 5 judicial members, appointed by the Lord President to a maximum term of 4 years: * One sheriff principal * Two sheriffs * One justice of the peace * One Chamber President in the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland There are then 2 members of the legal profession, and 3 members from outside the legal system: * One Advocate * One Law Society of Scotland * Three lay members. The first Scottish Court Service Board was appointed by the Lord President on 18 December 2009 and comprises a majority of judicial officeholders and legal practitioners, by virtue of Schedule 3 to the 2008 Act. The Board formally took up responsibility on 1 April 2010 and is responsible for developing the strategic direction and operational efficiency of the Service. In September 2012, the Board put forward a document for "consultation" that, if approved, would render it in breach of its statutory duty as covered by Section 61(2) of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. The response of the Scottish ministers is awaited.

Members of the Board

As of 23 April 2017 the members of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Board were:

References

External links

{{Authority control 1995 establishments in Scotland 1995 in British law Government agencies established in 1995 Organisations based in Edinburgh Non-ministerial departments of the Scottish Government