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Stornoway Sheriff Court

Exterior of the Stornoway Sheriff Court

Hearings continue to call at Stornoway Sheriff Court

Jury trials which would otherwise call at Stornoway Sheriff Court were transferred to Inverness from July this year, due to the ongoing staffing challenges being faced by GEOAmey. 

We would like to make it clear that all other hearings, including summary trials and civil hearings will still call at Stornoway Sheriff Court. Please only attend Inverness Sheriff Court if you have received a citation requiring you to do so.  

The Order published in July requires new jury trials which would have called at Stornoway, Lerwick, Kirkwall, Portree and Lochmaddy Sheriff Courts to call at Inverness, Aberdeen or Peterhead Sheriff Courts instead.

Sheriff Principal Pyle has this order under constant review and is consulting with justice partners with a view to returning jury trials to island courts when practically possible.

 

If you want to pay your fine or would like information and advice please visit our Pay a Fine page.  

Hub Courts for new, first instance custodies

New, first instance custody cases will continue to be heard in hub courts as first instance cases in each Sheriffdom as follows. Thereafter, if a further substantive hearing is assigned this will be to the court of local jurisdiction.



  

Sheriffdom orders

The following Sheriffdom guidance, information and practice notes apply to this court.

Please also refer to the Rules and Practice section of the website.


FileTypeSizeUploaded onDownload
GHI Act of Court No 4 of 2023PDF46.42 KB26 Sep, 2023 Download
GHI Act of Court No 2 of 2022 - Public & Court Holidays 2023PDF709.35 KB28 Nov, 2022 Download
GHI Act of Court No 2 of 2023 – Public Holidays 2023 AmendmentPDF492.67 KB22 Aug, 2023 Download
GHI Act of Court No 3 of 2023 – Public Holidays 2024PDF501.26 KB22 Aug, 2023 Download
GHI - Order No. 3 of 2023 - Transfer of Island Court Trials to Sheriffdom Hub CourtsPDF401.16 KB19 Jul, 2023 Download
GHI Act of Court No 1 of 2023PDF32.64 KB10 Feb, 2023 Download
Final - Sheriffs Principal Guidance for Court Users - Electronic Submission of Documents PDF227.19 KB24 Oct, 2022 Download
PN no.3 of 2022 - PIDM (003)PDF361.90 KB19 Oct, 2022 Download
Management of Proceedings in the Sheriff Courts (July 2022)PDF181.07 KB20 Jul, 2022 Download
Guidance for Court Users - Child Welfare HearingsPDF172.56 KB13 Jul, 2022 Download
Management of Summary Cause Proceedings Housing (Scotland) Act 2001PDF193.24 KB11 Jul, 2022 Download
Guidance Civil No 2PDF244.24 KB19 Jun, 2020 Download
Electronic submission of documents Civil No 4 of 2020PDF104.73 KB26 Jun, 2020 Download
Guidance for Practitioners and Litigants - Adoption Proceedings GHIPDF104.39 KB21 May, 2021 Download
Civil Guidance - Video Conference CallPDF126.59 KB03 Sep, 2021 Download
2022 Custody DirectionPDF239.43 KB19 Oct, 2021 Download


Stornoway Sheriff Court is situated in the town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles. The Court jurisdiction covers the Islands of Lewis and Harris.

Contact Details

Postal address

Sheriff Court House,
9 Lewis Street,
Stornoway,
HS1 2JF

 

Main telephone

01851 702231

Sheriff Clerk / Main contact

Kenneth Finnie

Court accepts dative petitions, Special Petitions and Requirement of Writings applications only. Inventories and the issuing of confirmation is undertaken at Inverness Sheriff Court

Fax

01851 704296

Email

stornoway@scotcourts.gov.uk

Jury helpline

01851 702231

Accessibility contact

If you want to contact us using text relay please follow the guidance at this link -  the Next Generation Text Service

If you require the support of an interpreter when you contact a court (by phone or attend in person), a telephone interpretation service is available.  To access this service ask for telephone interpreting and the language required. This service is NOT available during actual court proceedings.

If you use British Sign Language (BSL) and wish to phone us using a sign language interpreter, you can use the online video relay interpreting service. For more information see the contactSCOTLAND website. www.contactscotland-bsl.org

Directions

The court is about 5-10 minutes walk from Stornoway town centre. Please use the Journey Planner for public transportation information.

By bus

The bus station is at South Beach and is a 5-10 minutes walk from the Court. Bus timetables can be found at the website.

By car

There is a public car park at the court. There are limited parking spaces which are on a first come first served basis. Other parking is available at South Beach Quay (Free Parking) and Perceval Square.

By taxi

There is a taxi rank 10 minute walk from the court.

By air

The nearest airport is Stornoway Airport (3 miles) - 01851 707400. There are daily flights to Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. There is no bus service to the Airport.



On Arrival

On arrival please report to the sheriff clerk's office. You will be directed from there to where you need to go in the building. If you are attending for jury duty please report to reception.

Access for wheelchair users is at the rear of the court building. If you have any specific access requirements please contact the sheriff clerk's office on 01851 702231.

Facilities

There are a small number of shops, cafes and hotels in Stornoway within walking distance of the court building where meals/snacks can be purchased. There are no refreshment facilities at the court.

If you are sitting on a jury, lunch and refreshments will be provided for you if the court sits into the afternoon.

A loop induction service is available in all courtrooms for people who have hearing difficulties. Please contact the sheriff clerk's office if you require to use this facility.

Pay a Fine

If you want to pay your fine or would like information and advice please visit our Pay a Fine page. 


Opening Times

Mon - Fri 09.00 - 13:00,14:00 - 16:00

Opening hours for the public counters in all Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Courts during the festive period –

Friday 23 December 2022 – 9am to 3.30pm

Wednesday 28 December 2022 – 9am to 5pm

Thursday 29 December 2022 – 9am to 5pm

Friday 30 December 2022 – 9am to 3.30pm

Normal hours resume on Wednesday 4 January 2023

Public Holidays

2022

December 26, 27

2023

January 2, 3
April 7, 10
May 1, 8
July 3
August 21
September 25
December 4, 25, 26

Complaints

Please refer to the complaints and feedback page.

Useful Links


 

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