Judicial Office for Scotland

The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 establishes the Lord President as Head of the Judiciary and places a number of responsibilities on the Lord President.

From 1 April 2010 these include

  • The efficient disposal of business in Scottish courts;
  • Representing the views of the Scottish judiciary to the Scottish Parliament and to the Scottish Ministers;
  • The laying of written representations to Parliament on matters of importance relating to the Scottish judiciary or the administration of justice in Scotland;
  • The welfare, training, guidance of judicial office holders and establishment and
  • The operation of a conduct scheme for the judiciary.

The Judicial Office for Scotland has been created as a separate part of the Scottish Court Service as provided for in the legislation. The office will provide support to the Lord President for those responsibilities which do not relate to the oversight of courts administration and will also support him on court and justice administration issues which do relate to judicial deployment.

While it has clear and separate responsibilities, the Judicial Office will have to work closely, often collaboratively, with other directorates of the Scottish Court Service to fully support the Lord President.