In the Courts of Scotland, a sheriff-substitute was the historical name for the judges who sit in the local sheriff courts under the direction of the sheriffs principal; from 1971 the sheriffs substitute were renamed simply as sheriff. When researching the history of the sheriffs and sheriffs principal of Scotland there is much confusion over the use of different names to refer to sheriffs in Scotland. Sheriffs principal are those sheriffs who have held office over a sheriffdom, whether through inheritance or through direct appointment by the Crown. Thus, hereditary sheriff (before 1746) and sheriff-depute (after 1746) are the precursors to the modern office of sheriff principal.
Backgroundedit
The office of sheriff in Scotland is an ancient one, owing its origins to the practice of the King of Scots to appoint leading local magnates to hear disputes between his subjects. In many cases, the office of sheriff became hereditary, a practice strengthened by the clan-based social system that prevailed in parts of Scotland such as the Highlands. As the complexity of the law grew, and its administration began to require specialist knowledge and training, an increasingly common practice was for the hereditary sheriff, usually a layman, to appoint a sheriff-depute to hear cases on his behalf. Because the same sheriff-depute might be appointed to assist several different sheriffs, he in turn would appoint a sheriff-substitute to act in his place when he was unavailable to sit in a particular court.
In the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, the British government abolished heritable jurisdictions throughout Scotland, including the office of hereditary sheriff. In most cases, the sheriffs-deputes came to formally assume the responsibilities they had already been discharging. The title of sheriff-depute soon fell into disuse, being shortened simply to "sheriff". A local judge appointed by the sheriff would continue to be called a sheriff-substitute.
In the latter part of the 20th century, the titles of sheriff and sheriff-substitute were replaced by sheriff principal and sheriff respectively:
Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971. c. 58. Part I. Sheriffs Principal and Sheriffs, Section 4:
Offices of Sheriff Principal and Sheriff:
(1) The office of sheriff (that is to say, the office known formerly as the office of sheriff depute, but known immediately before the commencement of this Act as the office of sheriff) shall be known as the office of sheriff principal, the office of sheriff substitute shall be known as the office of sheriff, and the office of honorary sheriff substitute shall be known as the office of honorary sheriff.[1]
sheriff, substitute, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, august, 2012, learn, when, remove, this, message, courts,. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations August 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message In the Courts of Scotland a sheriff substitute was the historical name for the judges who sit in the local sheriff courts under the direction of the sheriffs principal from 1971 the sheriffs substitute were renamed simply as sheriff When researching the history of the sheriffs and sheriffs principal of Scotland there is much confusion over the use of different names to refer to sheriffs in Scotland Sheriffs principal are those sheriffs who have held office over a sheriffdom whether through inheritance or through direct appointment by the Crown Thus hereditary sheriff before 1746 and sheriff depute after 1746 are the precursors to the modern office of sheriff principal Background editThe office of sheriff in Scotland is an ancient one owing its origins to the practice of the King of Scots to appoint leading local magnates to hear disputes between his subjects In many cases the office of sheriff became hereditary a practice strengthened by the clan based social system that prevailed in parts of Scotland such as the Highlands As the complexity of the law grew and its administration began to require specialist knowledge and training an increasingly common practice was for the hereditary sheriff usually a layman to appoint a sheriff depute to hear cases on his behalf Because the same sheriff depute might be appointed to assist several different sheriffs he in turn would appoint a sheriff substitute to act in his place when he was unavailable to sit in a particular court In the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government abolished heritable jurisdictions throughout Scotland including the office of hereditary sheriff In most cases the sheriffs deputes came to formally assume the responsibilities they had already been discharging The title of sheriff depute soon fell into disuse being shortened simply to sheriff A local judge appointed by the sheriff would continue to be called a sheriff substitute In the latter part of the 20th century the titles of sheriff and sheriff substitute were replaced by sheriff principal and sheriff respectively Sheriff Courts Scotland Act 1971 c 58 Part I Sheriffs Principal and Sheriffs Section 4 Offices of Sheriff Principal and Sheriff 1 The office of sheriff that is to say the office known formerly as the office of sheriff depute but known immediately before the commencement of this Act as the office of sheriff shall be known as the office of sheriff principal the office of sheriff substitute shall be known as the office of sheriff and the office of honorary sheriff substitute shall be known as the office of honorary sheriff 1 dd See also editCourts of Scotland Sheriff Court Sheriff Principal Scots lawReferences edit Sheriff Courts Scotland Act 1971 available in the following UK legislation website http www legislation gov uk ukpga 1971 58 section 4 Accessed 2012 10 03 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sheriff substitute amp oldid 1083101975, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
