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Access to virtual hearings

Information about the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service public and media access to virtual hearings. Virtual hearings are not used for all cases but are effective for some cases as set out in the Guidance for Supreme Court users and for Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court users.

Watch our short film on virtual civil hearings to discover how a virtual hearing in a civil court works to enable business to take place efficiently and effectively. The virtual court fully supports the functions of a live court environment and the film provides a high-level overview of how this works in practice.

 

Public information on virtual hearings

Please contact the relevant court directly at least one working day in advance to access a virtual hearing in the Supreme Courts, Sheriff Courts, Sheriff Appeal Court or All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court by sending an email to: onlinehearingaccess@scotcourts.gov.uk  with the following information:

  • the case reference number
  • the date of the hearing.

The case reference number and date of the hearing can be found on the Court Rolls.

Media information for virtual hearings

If you are a member of the press seeking access to a virtual case, please email onlinehearingaccess@scotcourts.gov.uk at least one working day before the case is due to call.

Alternatively, audio hearings can be accessed by dialling using the instructions below.

You will require to provide proof that you are a bona fide journalist.

Restrictions on virtual hearings

Do not share access details for virtual hearings. Access is provided to you, the individual, and in accessing a case via the details provided, you are agreeing to the conditions set out below.

Please be aware that some court cases can deal with distressing details.

Media restrictions on virtual hearings

You will be able to listen to proceedings but will not see the participants.

Anyone failing to obey or respect the authority of the Court may be subject to Contempt of Court proceedings. In particular, those accessing a hearing:

  • must not record or store the proceedings
  • must not broadcast the proceedings

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service retain the copyright of live audio recordings of Court proceedings. Although you are welcome to listen to the proceedings, the re-use, capture, re-editing or redistribution of the material in any form is not permitted. You should be aware that any such use could attract liability for breach of copyright or defamation, in addition to the possibility of contempt of court proceedings.

In a physical court, access is provided on a first come first served basis. Although a significantly larger number of people can be accommodated through remote access, the hearing will close if audio capacity is reached.

Use of social media during a virtual hearing

Members of the public must not, during the course of a virtual hearing, comment on the proceedings using any social media platform in relation to: jury trials; cases involving sexual offences; or cases where the participants cannot legally be identified.

Any social media comment in relation to the proceedings of other types of court case during the course of a hearing:

  • must be fair and accurate
  • must not be in Contempt of Court
  • must not be prejudicial to the court case

Each individual accessing the case should be personally aware of the legal restrictions of use and for this reason the meeting code should not be shared.

How to dial into a virtual hearing

Having read the information carefully and agreeing to the conditions, please follow the instructions below to dial in to the hearing. As participant arrangements require to be put in place, the hearing may not start immediately. Your patience is appreciated.

  1. dial (United Kingdom Toll) +44-20-7660-8149*
  2. enter the Case Access Code
  3. when prompted, press # to join
  4. once connected the line will remain silent until the hearing begins
  5. the sound will activate automatically.

*Please note this call may incur a cost and you should check with your phone provider.

If there are no Case Access Codes listed, there are no scheduled virtual hearings.

Case Access Codes

There are currently no Case Access Codes.

 

Court contacts and case references

 

Court of Session

These will have case reference numbers starting with: A; CA; PD; P; XA; GP
Email: Keepers@scotcourts.gov.uk 

High Court of Appeal

These will have case reference numbers starting with: HCA
Email: solemnappeals@scotcourts.gov.uk 

Sheriff Appeal Court Civil

Email: SAC.civil@scotcourts.gov.uk 

Sheriff Appeal Court Criminal

Email: summaryappeals@scotcourts.gov.uk 

All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court

These will have case reference numbers starting with: PIC-PN or PIC-PG
Email: NationalPICourt@scotcourts.gov.uk 

Scottish Land Court

These will have case reference numbers starting with: SLC
Email: SLCourtMailbox@scotcourtstribunals.gov.uk