Remuneration and expenses
Section 16 – Remuneration
39.Section 16 consolidates a number of provision of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Acts 1907 and 1971 dealing with the remuneration of sheriffs, sheriffs principal, part-time sheriffs and re-employed former judiciary and makes new provision for the remuneration of summary sheriffs and part-time summary sheriffs. The remuneration of sheriffs principal and sheriffs is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998. Subsections (1) and (2) in providing for the determination of the remuneration of sheriffs and sheriffs principal by the Secretary of State with consent of the Treasury, re-enact section 14 of the 1907 Act. Subsections (3) and (4) provide for the remuneration of summary sheriffs to be determined and paid by the Scottish Ministers. Subsections (5), (6), and (7) deal with the remuneration of part-time and re-employed judiciary. Again the remuneration of these judiciary is determined by the Scottish Ministers. Subsections (8) and (9) restate section 10(4) of the 1971 Act in relation to payments to be made to sheriffs principal and sheriffs who are directed to perform the judicial functions of sheriffs principal and sheriffs in another sheriffdom. Subsections (10) and (11) make similar provision in relation to summary sheriffs who act in another sheriffdom; in contrast to sheriffs principal and sheriffs, in respect of whom the function of determining remuneration continues to rest with the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury, any additional remuneration of summary sheriffs is to be determined by the Scottish Ministers.
40.Subsection (12) makes it clear that salaries and remuneration for the judicial officers listed under subsections (1) to (11) will be paid by the SCTS. Subsection (13) provides that the salaries of sheriffs principal and sheriffs and the remuneration due to summary sheriffs will be charged on the Scottish Consolidated Fund.
Section 17 – Expenses
41.There are a variety of provisions in the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 that make provision for the payment of expenses and allowances to holders of judicial offices in the sheriff court and which are distinct from remuneration provisions. These are section 10(4) (sheriff directed to perform duties in a sheriffdom other than that which he was appointed), section 11(8) (temporary sheriffs principal), section 11A(8) (part-time sheriffs), section 14A(6) (re-employment of retired sheriffs) and section 19 (travelling expenses for sheriffs principal). Section 17 consolidates these provisions and provides that the judicial officers listed in subsection (3) may be paid expenses by the SCTS if they were reasonably incurred in the performance of the officer’s duties. There is now no provision for the payment of “allowances”.
