Access online virtual hearings through the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Openness and transparency of the justice system is one of the fundamental principles of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. To help inform and educate the public about the work of the judiciary and the court, we give virtual access to interested parties to view proceedings when they are unable to attend in person.

The Inner House of the Court of Session is the first court in Scotland to deliver livestreaming service to the public. View the Court of Session live schedule for information on upcoming hearings.

Virtual hearings through Webex is available for the Court of Session, Sheriff Appeal Court, Personal Injury Court, Sheriff civil courts proofs, debates, evidential and Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) hearings, and for tribunal hearings, including the Upper Tribunal.

Information and guidance is available for accessing virtual hearings.

Further resources, including video guides are also available on virtual criminal and civil courts.

Jury service is an important public duty. The role of the jury, is to reach a verdict in the case, having heard and considered the facts according to the evidence and the instructions given by the judge. There are 15 people in a criminal jury trial and 12 in a civil jury trial.

During the pandemic jurors attended remote jury centres, which allowed for social distancing. As a result of the positive progress on COVID-19 we are starting to return most High Court and Sheriff Solemn jury trials completely back into courtrooms.

The return of juries to courtrooms is a phased operation which will take a few months to complete. Over that period Remote Jury Centres (RJC) will be progressively decommissioned.

For more information, view our juror page.