Edinburgh Sheriff Court

Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
55.9478°N 3.1906°W / 55.9478; -3.1906
Location	Edinburgh, Scotland
Coordinates	55.9478°N 3.1906°W / 55.9478; -3.1906
Number of positions	13
Sheriff Principal
Currently	Nigel Ross
Since	2022

History

A courtroom in Edinburgh Sheriff Court

Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnmarket.^[1] However, as the number of court cases in Edinburgh grew, it became necessary to commission a modern courthouse for criminal matters. The site the court officials selected had previously been occupied by a part of Heriot-Watt University.^[2][3]

The new courthouse was designed by John Kirkwood Wilson of PSA Projects,^[4] built in buff sandstone^[5] at a cost of £47 million,^[2] and was officially opened to the public by the sheriff principal, Gordon Nicholson, in September 1994.^[6][7][8] The Cowgate elevation is eight storeys high and public access is to be building, which on the fourth level, is from Chambers Street.^[4] Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate 16 courtrooms.^[9]

Operations

The court deals with both criminal and civil cases. There are currently thirteen sheriffs in post at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.^[10] They sit alone in civil cases and are assisted by a jury of fifteen members selected from the electoral roll in some criminal cases (cases involving solemn proceedings only). The Sheriff Principal is Nigel Ross who was appointed in 2022.^[11]