2.1 Courts in Scotland

There are different types of courts in Scotland which, between them, cover a wide range of legal disputes, from individuals accused of crimes, individuals and companies in debt, children at risk of harm, businesses involved in commercial disputes or individuals asserting their contractual rights. Which particular court hears a legal dispute is determined by a number of factors. These factors can be categorised into either civil or criminal. This categorisation is important as it determines which court will hear the case, the procedure to be followed and the standard of proof. These will be explored in the next section.

Figure 1 The courts