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The Administration Unit

The Administration Unit is responsible for the day to day administration and maintenance of the Supreme Courts and their buildings.

Structure of the Administration Unit
Principal Clerk of Session & Justiciary
Head of Administration

The Head of Administration is accountable to the Principal Clerk of Session and Justiciary, for the efficient and effective operation of this unit. He/she is responsible for programming and monitoring of Supreme Courts budgets and liaison with Lord President, Lord Justice Clerk and High Court Judges on administration/accommodation matters.

The Administration Manager is responsible for the day to day running of the Administration Unit and is line manager for the cashier, budgets officer, accommodation team, secretarial and support services. Main duties include administrative support to other Supreme Courts units, Finance, Budgets/payments, staffing/personnel issues, management matters, and miscellaneous duties e.g. Project Management.

The Cashier has responsibility for transactions in relation to all Supreme Court matters as well as monthly reconciliation of all bank accounts, processing payments to solicitors’ accounts and invoicing firms for work done. Other duties include the calculation and subsequent processing of jurors’ expenses.

The Budgets Officer has responsibility for payment of invoices from suppliers and reconciliation of accounts and production of monthly budget reports. Other duties include processing of staff Travel and Subsistence Claims, Overtime Claims, Substitution and reporting on staff sick absence. Recording of pictures and portraits within the Supreme Courts and processing of invoices for Doctors reports to the Court in criminal cases and Shorthand Writers fees for extending notes of evidence which are transcribed from the tape recorded evidence as required e.g. for Court cases which are appealed.

The Accommodation Team (Edinburgh & Glasgow buildings) are in charge of accommodation and maintenance for Supreme Courts buildings, Parliament House, High Court in Edinburgh & High Court in Glasgow. Other duties include Health and Safety matters, attending meetings with contractors, ensuring that all works carried out are to an acceptable standard, budget allocations for invoices, procurement, stationery, furniture, office machinery.

The Superintendent of Court is responsible for supervision of the Support Services/Macers. Macers work with High Court Judges during Civil and Criminal cases. They are responsible for attending to Judges while on circuit at other High Courts such as Aberdeen, Inverness etc. Others duties include portering, messengerial duties, telephonist, reception, record keeper and production keeper.

The Secretarial Support Team prepare and type opinions, judgements, reports and all other court documents. The Secretarial Support Manager and her Pool of secretaries and typists offer typing and secretarial support to all Judges and staff within the Supreme Courts.
The Secretarial Support Manager is also responsible for the local management of the Scottish Courts Website and all local IT support for the Judiciary and staff.

The Supreme Courts Library, the Judicial Library of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, provides a comprehensive reference, enquiry and information service to the judiciary and members of court staff.
Based in Parliament House, the library offers research facilities and assistance to the judiciary, in addition to supplying legal authorities to the bench, using both printed and electronic sources. The extensive collection of statute law, case law, legal reference and textbooks is augmented by means of interlibrary loan and document delivery. Judges may access the library at any time of the day or night, seven days a week.
The library also maintains three satellite collections of criminal authorities for judges sitting in the High Court in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, and provides core criminal texts as required for High Court circuits taking place in other towns and cities.
The library staff consists of one professional librarian and one library assistant.

Photograph courtesy of Luke Hughes & Company, Furniture Designers & Makers