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A court in the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands
Kirkwall Sheriff Court was opened on 27 August 1877. The building was designed by David Bryce, one of Scotland's most important Victorian architects. The courthouse sits between the Historic Scotland sites of the Earls and Bishops Palaces. The building has one courtroom and sheriff chambers as well as office accommodation for the Sheriff clerk depute and the Procurator Fiscal Service.
Kirkwall Sheriff Court covers the whole of the Orkney Islands area.
Jury trials which would otherwise call at Kirkwall Sheriff Court were transferred to Inverness from July this year, due to the ongoing staffing challenges being faced by GEOAmey.
We would like to make it clear that all other hearings, including summary trials and civil hearings will still call at Kirkwall Sheriff Court. Please only attend Inverness Sheriff Court if you have received a citation requiring you to do so.
The Order published in July requires new jury trials which would have called at Stornoway, Lerwick, Kirkwall, Portree and Lochmaddy Sheriff Courts to call at Inverness, Aberdeen or Peterhead Sheriff Courts instead.
Sheriff Principal Pyle has this order under constant review and is consulting with justice partners with a view to returning jury trials to island courts when practically possible.
Sheriff Court House
Watergate
Kirkwall
Orkney
KW15 1PD
01856 872110
Laura Beth Macvie (Depute)
557986 Kirkwall
The helpline is available from 17:00 the day prior to a sitting:
01856 872110
A phone interpreter service is available when you contact a court by phone or attend in person. To access this service ask for phone interpreter and the language required.
The phone interpreter service is not available during actual court proceedings.
If you are deaf, have hearing loss or are speech impaired you can contact us for free with Relay UK.
If you use British Sign Language (BSL) and wish to phone us using a sign language interpreter, you can use the online video relay interpreting service. For more information see the Contact Scotland BSL website.
The Sheriff Clerk's office is open Monday to Friday:
The court sits 7 days a month.
No court scheduled.
No court scheduled.
All commissary work carried out.
New, first instance custody cases will continue to be heard in hub courts as first instance cases in each Sheriffdom as follows. Thereafter, if a further substantive hearing is assigned this will be to the court of local jurisdiction.
To pay a fine or for information please go to paying a fine.
The sheriff court is in the centre of town and public transport is available. For public transportation information use the Traveline Scotland journey planner.
Please visit CycleStreets for details of the nearest cycle parking options.
Local and out of town buses stop at the Travel Centre, Kirkwall. Timetables are available at the Orkney Islands Council website.
There is no public parking available at the court house. There are several clearly signposted car parks within the town centre.
There are several local taxi firms that serve Kirkwall.
The nearest airport is Kirkwall Airport, approximately 4 miles away.
On arrival please enter the sheriff clerk's public office, first door on the left. If you are attending for jury duty please come to the public office. Wheelchair users can access the building via a ramp to the main entrance.
If you have any specific access requirements please contact: Laura Beth Macvie, Sheriff Clerk Depute.
Languageline facilities are available for anyone who requires the support of an interpreter.
There are a number of local cafes and restaurants near to the court building.
If you are sitting on a jury, lunch and refreshments will be provided for you if the court sits into the afternoon.
A loop induction service is available in all courtrooms for people who have hearing difficulties. Please contact the court if you require to use this facility.
Find out about the sheriffdom guidance, information and practice notes that apply to the courts in the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands.
Please also refer to the:
Find out more about the courts in this sheriffdom.
Grampian, Highland and Islands