| Court Name: | Edinburgh Sheriff Court |
| Location: | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Coordinates: | 55.9478°N -3.1906°W |
| Positions: | 13 |
| Chiefjudgetitle: | Sheriff Principal |
| Chiefjudgename: | Nigel Ross |
| Termstart: | 2022 |
Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders.
Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnmarket. 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.[1] [2]
The new courthouse was designed by John Kirkwood Wilson of PSA Projects,[3] built in buff sandstone[4] at a cost of £47 million,[1] and was officially opened to the public by the sheriff principal, Gordon Nicholson, in September 1994.[5] [6] [7] The Cowgate elevation is eight storeys high and public access is to be building, which on the fourth level, is from Chambers Street.[3] Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate 16 courtrooms.[8]
The court deals with both criminal and civil cases. There are currently thirteen sheriffs in post at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.[9] 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.[10]