Outline and Describe the Structure and Jurisdiction of the Scottish Criminal and Civil Courts. Give Examples of the Types of Cases These Courts Will Hear and Indicate Which Scottish Legal Personnel You Would Expect to Find There.
Outline and describe the structure and jurisdiction of the Scottish criminal and civil courts. Give examples of the types of cases these courts will hear and indicate which Scottish legal personnel you would expect to find there.
Scottish courts are divided into two distinct and separate systems, each with its own jurisdiction and terminology. As stated above these are the civil and criminal courts. First of all I will look into the structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts. The civil court deals with disputes between individuals, companies or public bodies and can be in extremely diverse areas of law. Civil cases are said to be adversarial. This means that the judge will hear legal argument and evidence from all parties and then make a judgement based on the balance of probabilities '. It should be noted that the standard of proof required is not as high as that of in the criminal courts.
Regarding the structure of the civil courts it is split in to three different sections. We have The Sheriff Court, The Court of Session and The House of Lords.
The Sheriff Court is the busiest court as it deals with both civil and criminal cases. Scotland is divided into six areas known as sheriffdoms. Theses sheriffdoms are; Grampian, Highlands and Islands; Tayside, Central and Fife; Lothian and Borders; Glasgow and Strathkelvin; North Strathclyde and South Strathclyde Dumfries and Galloway. The sheriffdoms are further divided into 49 sheriff court districts. Each sheriffdom has a sheriff principal who administers the work and is assisted by the other sheriffs.
The sheriff court has very wide jurisdiction as regards the subject matter it can deal with. Jurisdiction concerns the subject matter of the claim and the geographical location of the parties. Firstly, jurisdiction is limited to persons who are resident within or have some association, e.g. business ownership, with the sheriffdom in which the court is situated. With regards to property the case will be
Scottish courts are divided into two distinct and separate systems, each with its own jurisdiction and terminology. As stated above these are the civil and criminal courts. First of all I will look into the structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts. The civil court deals with disputes between individuals, companies or public bodies and can be in extremely diverse areas of law. Civil cases are said to be adversarial. This means that the judge will hear legal argument and evidence from all parties and then make a judgement based on the balance of probabilities '. It should be noted that the standard of proof required is not as high as that of in the criminal courts.
Regarding the structure of the civil courts it is split in to three different sections. We have The Sheriff Court, The Court of Session and The House of Lords.
The Sheriff Court is the busiest court as it deals with both civil and criminal cases. Scotland is divided into six areas known as sheriffdoms. Theses sheriffdoms are; Grampian, Highlands and Islands; Tayside, Central and Fife; Lothian and Borders; Glasgow and Strathkelvin; North Strathclyde and South Strathclyde Dumfries and Galloway. The sheriffdoms are further divided into 49 sheriff court districts. Each sheriffdom has a sheriff principal who administers the work and is assisted by the other sheriffs.
The sheriff court has very wide jurisdiction as regards the subject matter it can deal with. Jurisdiction concerns the subject matter of the claim and the geographical location of the parties. Firstly, jurisdiction is limited to persons who are resident within or have some association, e.g. business ownership, with the sheriffdom in which the court is situated. With regards to property the case will be
Bibliography: www.sml.hw.ac.uk/buslm1/ComLaw1/ScottishLegalSystem.html Understanding Scots Law – Thomson, W.Green