Scotland Jurisdictions
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Jurisdictions
A jurisdiction is an area governed by a system of laws. Each jurisdiction has a geographic boundary with some type of authority (i.e., manor, parish, town, county). This authority has the power to apply and enforce the laws. In Scotland birth, marriage, death, census, and other genealogical records are organized and stored in different governmental levels such as parish, burgh, and county.
Jurisdictions Pre-1890
Parishes
Civil Parish
Civil parishes were established in 1845 when certain ecclesiastical parishes were given the legal jurisdiction over poor law and education. Genealogical information such as parish registers are generally organized by civil parish. The difference in parishes after the establishement of the civil system are detailed below.
Quoad Omnia Parish
Quoad Omnia, meaning "for all purposes" in Latin, is the standard parish in Scotland, encompassing both civil and ecclesiastical authority. These parishes included a kirk session (church court), as well as the civil functions of education and poor relief. At the time of the Scottish Reformation and the establishment of the Church of Scotland in 1560, Scotland was divided into about 900 parishes.
Quoad Sacra Parish
Quoad Sacra parishes were first established in 1845 in contrast to the new civil parish system and expanded throughout the 19th Century. Quoad Sacra, meaning "for sacred purposes" in Latin, signifies a parish that has only ecclesiastical authority. These parishes have their own kirk session, but elements of education and poor relief are governed by the civil parish that each Quoad Sacra parish lies within.
Chapel of Ease & Mission Church
Within the Church of Scotland, chapels of ease are churches with their own minister, but without a kirk session. They are often created when a parish's population exceeds the capacity of a parish church, and thus many of Scotland's chapels of ease have been located in major cities such as Edinburgh or Glasgow. In less populated and geographically distant areas, such as the Highlands, these smaller churches without kirk sessions are called Mission Churches.
Church Heirarchy
Kirk Session
A kirk session is the first level of heirarchy in the Church of Scotland. Only Quoad Omnia and Quoad Sacra parishes have kirk sessions. These bodies were made up of parishoners and acted as a church court and managerial body, dispersing church funds and adjudicating simple civil and spiritual crimes.
Presbytery
A presbytery is the second level of heirarchy in the Church of Scotland, and is rougly analogous to an Archdeaconry in the Church of England, or a Stake in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Presbyteries are composed of a few parishes, and act as a higher level of church court. Ministers in the Church of Scotland were not answerable to their kirk session, but rather the presbytery, and cases concerning ministers can be found at this level.
Synod
A synod is the third level of heirarchy in the Church of Scotland, and is roughly analogous to a Diocese in the Church of England, or an Area in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Multiple presbyteries make up a synod.
General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest court and governing body of the Church of Scotland. Issues of major importance to the church that have passed through the lower levels are adjudicated here, generally at yearly meetings.
Historic Counties or Shires
Originally formed from sheriffdoms, historic counties or shires were the primary level of local government in Scotland beyond the parish for many centuries, and all civil parish records are organized by historic county.
Registration Districts
Registration Districts were created with the start of Statutory Registers for vital events in 1855. These districts initially corresponded with Civil Parishes as they were in 1855, but the amount of districts and their boundaries changed over time to reflect population and administrative changes.
Burghs
All burghs are incorporated cities and towns with formal local governments that have been delegated certain authority by royal edict or law. They are contrasted by unincorporated towns and villages, which rely upon counties for government services. They are generally similar to boroughs in England. Burghs held various powers of genealogical relevance, such as jurisdiction over criminal and civil law as well as the power to tax residents.
Royal Burgh
Royal burghs were towns that have recieved a royal charter from a monarch. The earliest in Scotland were incorporated in the 12th Century by David I, and subsequent monarchs bestowed charters throughout their reigns, with 70 royal burghs existing by the union in 1707. These burghs had broad civil and criminal jurisdiction.
Burgh of Regality
Burghs of regality were towns incorporated under the leadership of a member of the nobility and also had expansive criminal jurisdiction. This jurisdiction was reduced by the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 and the burghs of regality were brought in line with the powers of a burgh of barony.
Burgh of Barony
Similar to burghs of regality, these towns were incorporated under the leadership of a large local landowner, although they had limited ciriminal jurisdiction, with the primary power of the burgh being to organize markets.
Police Burgh
In 1833 the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act empowered royal, regality, and barony burghs to organize by vote of the eligible residents into a police burgh. These burghs had an elected body of commissioners, which oversaw more modern governmental functions such as police officers, street lighting, road maintnenance, and distributing utilities like drinking water. The Police of Towns (Scotland) Act 1850 opened the doors for any populous place (a town with a population of at least 1,200) to incorporate as a police burgh, not just burghs of other varieties.
Parliamentary Burgh
Following the Scottish Reform Act 1832, thirteen towns that were not previously a burgh of any kind were granted representation in Parliament. In 1833 these thirteen towns were incorporated, giving them similar powers to police burghs. The term 'parliamentary burgh' later came to represent any burgh that elected its own members of parliament, as opposed to being part of a landward (rural county) electorate.
Judicial Jurisdictions
Commissary Court
Commissary courts were created in the 16th Century during the Scottish Reformation to move disputes in marriage, divorce, legitimacy, and probate to civil jurisdiction. In 1823 their jurisdiction over inferior civil disputes were transfered to sheriff courts, and in 1876 they were abolished, turning over all jurisdiction to sheriff courts.
Sheriff Court
Sheriff courts are Scotland's primary judicial entity, dealing with both civil and criminal matters of all varieties. These courts hold records on probate, military, voting rights, land, and many more topics. Sheriffdoms, the land under the jurisdiction of a sheriff, were first established in the 11th Century, and formed the basis for shires, or counties. While sheriffdoms and counties initially had the same bountaries, throughout the centuries boundaries have diverged and been reorganized. Due to distance or population, some counties may have multiple sheriff courts with varying geographic jurisdictions, modernly called districts.
1890-1975 Jurisdictions
A major consolidation of power and change in jurisdictional boundaries occurred with the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1899.
Counties
In 1890, counties were standardized to control areas outside of the more populous burghs, those with at least 7,000 residents. Other changes included the merging of Ross-shire and Cromartyshire into Ross and Cromarty, the conversion of Orkney and Zetland's lordships into full counties. In 1929, burghs were re-absorbed back into counties, with large burghs (over 20,000 residents) retaining most powers, but smaller burghs giving up many powers to the county.
Counties of Cities
While Edinburgh had county status as early as 1482, the changes of 1890 prompted three other burghs to be elevated to a "county of a city," Glasgow in 1893, Dundee in 1894, and Aberdeen in 1900.
Landward Areas
The "landward" area of a county simply referred to the areas of a county that were not burghs.
1975-1996 Jurisdictions
Another major revision to the Scottish jurisdictional structure occured with the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Act scrapped counties entirely, opting for large Regions that encompassed smaller Districts. The system was short lived, and in 1996 was returned to a structure that alligned more closely with counties. Despite these changes, historic counties were preserved for some logistical and ceremonial matters, such as land records, postal codes, and lord-lieutenants.
Districts
Districts were smaller areas within a region, and dealt with local matters, such as city planning and public housing.
Regions
Regions were large areas, often encompassing multiple historic counties. This tier dealt with policing and courts, education, and transportation.
Island Areas
Three groups of islands, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides), were given unitary powers, acting as both districts and regions.
Presbyteries and Synods
In the early 1990s, the Church of Scotland abolished synods and further condensed presbyteries, essentially merging the two levels and creating the modern three-tier system: Kirk Session, Presbytery, General Assembly. As of 2024, there are 14 presbyteries, 11 in Scotland, and one each for England, Jerusalem, and the rest of the world. To locate 20th Century church court records, it may be necessary to contact the current presbytery of the parish where you are seeking records.
Modern Jurisdictions
Council Areas
Council Areas are the modern equivalent of counties. Some may corespond with Historic Counties, but it varies by council. Local archives are organized and run by each of the 32 Council Areas.