ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the essentials of the judiciary of Scotland are explained in detail. Details such as the process for judicial appointments, court hierarchy, and different judicial roles are outlined, and recent developments to judicial structures stemming from the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union are highlighted and explained. The authors provide details of an in-depth interview carried out with Sheriff Andrew Cubie, a former solicitor advocate who became a member of the Judiciary of Scotland in 1997. Sheriff Cubie has in the course of his career sat as a judge within various Scottish courts, before settling permanently in Glasgow Sheriff Court, officially the busiest court in Scotland, in 2010. From this base at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Sheriff Cubie also has experience at the highest levels of the judiciary in Scotland, having been further appointed as a temporary judge in the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session in 2018. In this interview, Sheriff Cubie discusses areas including what he believes the role of the judiciary should be within society, the links between legal theory and practice, and transnational relations between the judiciary in Scotland and external jurisdictions. Key conclusions drawn from the interview are that Sheriff Cubie believes the evolution of the law in the past 25 years in Scotland has been generally positive in nature; thinks that more could be achieved in terms of transnational relations; believes that relationships are underdeveloped between the judiciary and academia; and rejects the often-repeated misconception that members of the judiciary are not in touch with ordinary society, citing the experience that newly appointed judges and sheriffs must have accumulated prior to their judicial appointment.
