The Scottish Court Service is a Government department charged directly with the running of Scotland's Court system.
The Service has the status of an Executive Agency of the Scottish Executive. The Service has held agency status since it was created in 1995. This arm's length approach is also adopted by Scotland's Prison and Prosecution services.
The Service is headed by a Chief Executive and a management board who take day to day responsibility for the running of the Service. The management board are held to account by the Justice Minister and the two Justice Committees of the Scottish Parliament.
The Service employs nearly 1000 staff members in Scotland's 49 Sheriff Courts, 2 Supreme Courts, and at the Service's HQ in Edinburgh.
The Service's main responsibility is to support the Scottish Judiciary. The Judiciary consists of the 32 Judges of the Supreme Court and several hundred sheriffs who are spread throughout the country.
The Court staff will in one day deal with everything from a Murder Trial in the High Court to a Divorce case in the Sheriff Court.
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