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105-469: The Sheriff Appeal Court ( Scottish Gaelic : Cùirt Ath-thagraidh an t-Siorraim ) is a court in Scotland that hears appeals from summary criminal proceedings in the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts , and hears appeals on bail decisions made in solemn proceedings in the sheriff court . The Sheriff Appeal Court also hears appeals in civil cases from the sheriff courts, including

210-442: A 19% fall in bilingual speakers between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses. Michelle MacLeod of Aberdeen University has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers." The Linguistic Survey of Scotland (1949–1997) surveyed both

315-524: A central feature of court life there. The semi-independent Lordship of the Isles in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century. By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots (at that time termed Inglis ) emerged as

420-823: A challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency. In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents. Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and

525-464: A definitive sentence can be annulled in exceptional circumstances, usually predetermined within the jurisdiction in question. Most such cases arise from irregularities found in the judicial process after sentence has been passed. The most extreme examples arise in criminal cases , when conclusive proof of innocence comes to light after sentence has been passed, leading to the sentence's annulment. In most jurisdictions, under double jeopardy legislation,

630-717: A distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into the 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 census of Scotland , 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in

735-489: A full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people. The 2011 UK Census showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write

840-586: A language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore

945-805: A national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in Sleat , on the Isle of Skye . This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic. They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programs delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programs because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities. In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that

1050-610: A proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in Barvas , Lewis , with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in Ardnamurchan , Highland , with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes. Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in

1155-407: A sentence is reduced to a less harsh punishment, then the sentence is said to have been mitigated or commuted. Rarely, depending on circumstances, murder charges are mitigated and reduced to manslaughter charges. However, in certain legal systems, a defendant may be punished beyond the terms of the sentence, through phenomena including social stigma , loss of governmental benefits, or collectively,

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1260-536: A situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. Affect is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and highland clearances . This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to

1365-625: A translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of

1470-490: Is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland." Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in

1575-629: Is classed as an indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig . The Scottish Parliament is considering a Scottish Languages Bill which proposes to give the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. Aside from "Scottish Gaelic",

1680-778: Is empowered by this section to direct further the procedure or judgment of the appeal. The rules for the Sheriff Appeals Court are contained in Chapter 19 of the Criminal Procedures Rules 1996 (for criminal appeals) and the Sheriff Appeal Court Rules (Civil) (for civil appeals). The rules for criminal appeals were instituted by the High Court of Justiciary by Act of Adjournal which came into force on 22 September 2015, and

1785-411: Is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken. Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ( Malcolm III ) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife Margaret of Wessex spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland. When Malcolm and Margaret died in 1093,

1890-662: Is the responsibility of the Clerk of the Sheriff Appeal Court, who is assisted by a Deputy Clerk – Criminal and a Deputy Clerk – Civil. The clerk has significant responsibility for arranging hearings of the court, handling documents from litigants , and preparing copies for any party to the case. The President Sheriff is Principal Mhairi Stephen, QC and the Vice President is Sheriff Principal Ian Abercrombie, QC. The other current appeals sheriffs are available on

1995-519: The High Court of Justiciary with the permission of the Sheriff Appeal Court or the High Court. The Sheriff Appeal Court has exclusive jurisdiction for all appeals in civil proceedings at first instance in the sheriff courts of Scotland , replacing the prior appeal to the sheriffs principal of the six sheriffdoms of Scotland, and the automatic right of appeal to the Inner House of

2100-418: The High Court of Justiciary . Lord Gill also recommended that judgments of the court in criminal appeals should be binding on sheriffs throughout Scotland, as Lord Gill recommended: The decisions of the court would be binding on sheriffs throughout Scotland, to allow the creation of a consistent and coherent body of case law. The expectation was that this would expedite appeals from summary proceedings in

2205-462: The Inner House of the Court of Session was rejected by the Sheriff Appeal Court, as advised by Lord Drummond Young sitting as a Lord Ordinary , in the case of First Time Limited vs Alexander Fraser (Liquidator of Denmore Investments Limited) . Sheriff Principal Murrary stated: The motion was refused. The court was not satisfied that the case raises a novel or complex point of law which satisfies

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2310-792: The Justiciary Building in the Lawnmarket in Edinburgh. The court's jurisdiction was extended to civil appeals on 1 September 2016, before that date civil appeals were heard either by the sheriff principal for each sheriffdom or by the Inner House of Court of Session . The Sheriff Appeal Court's foundation was one of the results of, then Lord Justice Clerk , Lord Gill's Scottish Civil Courts Review (published in 2009), which identified several ways in which civil justice could be expedited through improving access to justice, reducing costs for parties litigant , and reducing

2415-555: The Outer Hebrides , accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals. Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers. This creates

2520-426: The Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In the 2022 census of Scotland , it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic, or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood

2625-688: The Scottish Lowlands . Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas. The largest absolute gains were in Aberdeenshire (+526), North Lanarkshire (+305), the Aberdeen City council area (+216), and East Ayrshire (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), Moray (+0.16%), and Orkney (+0.13%). In 2018,

2730-723: The Scottish Sentencing Council to prepare or modify sentencing guidelines. The power for the Sheriff Appeal Court to issue guideline judgments is granted by Section 48 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 . The Sheriff Appeal Court can remit (transfer) a case to the Court of Session under Section 112 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which allows for the Inner House to deal with complex or novel questions of law . The case can be remitted at

2835-509: The Sheriff Personal Injury Court . The Sheriff Appeal Court was established for criminal appeals on 22 September 2015, as part of Lord Gill’s Scottish Civil Courts Reforms, to deal with criminal appeals. The bench , there is no jury, generally comprises two or three appeal sheriffs depending on the type of appeal to be considered. Bail hearings are presided over by a single appeal sheriff. The criminal court sits in

2940-491: The collateral consequences of criminal charges . Statutes generally specify the highest penalties that may be imposed for certain offenses, and sentencing guidelines often mandate the minimum and maximum imprisonment terms to imposed upon an offender, which is then left to the discretion of the trial court. However, in some jurisdictions, prosecutors have great influence over the punishments actually handed down, by virtue of their discretion to decide what offenses to charge

3045-786: The significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education since that time is unknown. Gaelic Medium Education is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides.  However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada. One can attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ,

3150-601: The 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments. It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy. Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of

3255-404: The 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over. Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had

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3360-569: The Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and

3465-595: The College of Justice in the Supreme Courts of Scotland . Lord Gill's proposal was to extended the ability to apply for leave to appeal to small claims actions , where no such ability had existed before. The Scottish Government , in 2010, accepted the analysis by Lord Gill there were problems facing the civil courts of Scotland. The Scottish Government recognised that costs were rising, there were excessive delays, and too many rescheduled hearings. They agreed that

3570-579: The Court of Session . A bench of three Appeal Sheriffs sits to hear appeals on civil cases raised under ordinary cause, with summary cause, small claims , and procedural business decided by a single Appeal Sheriff. Cases can only be appealed to the Inner House with the permission of either the Sheriff Appeal Court or the Court of Session . All judgments of the Sheriff Appeal Court in civil cases establish binding precedent on all sheriffs and in all sheriffdoms throughout Scotland. The civil jurisdiction of

3675-594: The EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other European languages . The deal was received positively in Scotland; Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed". Culture Minister Mike Russell said; "this

3780-538: The Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under David I , attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland. Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained

3885-684: The Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of Bòrd na Gàidhlig 's efforts. On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Scottish Human Rights Commission had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for

3990-762: The Gaelic aristocracy rejected their anglicised sons and instead backed Malcolm's brother Domnall Bán ( Donald III ). Donald had spent 17 years in Gaelic Ireland and his power base was in the thoroughly Gaelic west of Scotland. He was the last Scottish monarch to be buried on Iona , the traditional burial place of the Gaelic Kings of Dàl Riada and the Kingdom of Alba. However, during the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), Anglo-Norman names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of

4095-619: The Highland and Island region. In 1616, the Privy Council proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism. The Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 , to consider

4200-416: The Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as Ràtagan or Loch Ailleart rather than the anglicised forms Ratagan or Lochailort respectively). Some monolingual Gaelic road signs, particularly direction signs, are used on the Outer Hebrides , where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of

4305-726: The Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including Wester Ross , northwest Sutherland , Lochaber and Argyll . Dialects on both sides of the Straits of Moyle (the North Channel ) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the Mull of Kintyre , on Rathlin and in North East Ireland as late as

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4410-716: The Scotland Judiciary website. Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic , is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family ) native to the Gaels of Scotland . As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx , developed out of Old Irish . It became

4515-541: The Scottish Government was that all appeals would be centrally managed, with the sheriffs principal able to hear appeals from any sheriffdom (and not just from their own). The Scottish Government took the reforms to the Scottish Parliament in the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill on 6 February 2014, and the Bill (as amended) received Royal Assent on 6 May 2015 becoming the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 . It

4620-445: The Sheriff Appeal Court itself. The Sheriff Appeal Court can only overturn a prior precedent by convening a larger bench of Appeal Sheriffs than the bench that set the precedent. Previously, civil appeals to a sheriff principal were only binding on the sheriffs in the sheriffdom for which the sheriff principal was responsible. Such binding judgments are established by Section 48 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, so that when

4725-521: The Sheriff Appeal Court makes a decision on a question of law it is binding in every sheriffdom for every sheriff court and every justice of the peace court. Such precedent is also binding on solemn proceeding where a sheriff sits with a jury . The Sheriff Appeal Court can issue guideline judgments for criminal proceedings, where the Appeal Sheriffs give guidance on how sentencing should be handled in similar cases. Such judgments require

4830-410: The Sheriff Appeal Court was established on 1 January 2016. With civil appeals regulated by Act of Sederunt (Sheriff Appeal Court Rules) 2015, an Act of Sederunt made by the Court of Session on 21 October 2015, and which had come into force by 1 January 2016. Decisions made by the Sheriff Appeal Court in civil appeals are binding on all sheriffs throughout Scotland, and decisions are also binding on

4935-539: The Sheriff Appeal Court) to grant sanction for the use of counsel where the court considers that the case is likely to be difficult or complex, or important or of requisite value. At the same time no party should be allowed an advantage over an other through the use of an advocate. On 22 September 2015, the Sheriff Appeal Court was established to deal with criminal appeals. On 1 January 2016, Scottish Ministers by Scottish Statutory Instrument commenced

5040-540: The UK Government as Welsh . With the advent of devolution , however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005. The key provisions of the Act are: After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan

5145-826: The Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in Stornoway , the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011. The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is Kilmuir in Northern Skye at 46%. The islands in the Inner Hebrides with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are Tiree (38.3%), Raasay (30.4%), Skye (29.4%), Lismore (26.9%), Colonsay (20.2%), and Islay (19.0%). Today, no civil parish in Scotland has

5250-589: The Western Isles. The Scottish Qualifications Authority offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus). An Comunn Gàidhealach performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at

5355-463: The annual mods . In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and European Union officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch , and the Scottish government . This did not give Scottish Gaelic official status in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in

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5460-406: The appeal. The Sheriff Appeal Court can remit an appeal to the Inner House under Section 112 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 provided an application is made by a party to the case and, Remit of appeal from the Sheriff Appeal Court to the Court of Session Once remitted the case is treated as though the appeal began with the Court of Session. An application to remit an appeal to

5565-603: The bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on

5670-455: The blame for excessive punishments would fall upon prosecutors. Sentencing law sometimes includes cliffs that result in much stiffer penalties when certain facts apply. For instance, an armed career criminal or habitual offender law may subject a defendant to a significant increase in their sentence if they commit a third offence of a certain kind. This makes it difficult for fine gradations in punishments to be achieved. The earliest use of

5775-554: The case to be resolved without proof , and that no significant question of law was at stake, nor was there any compelling public interest . The Sheriff Appeal Court can refer a point of law to the High Court of Justiciary: Power to refer points of law for the opinion of the High Court Unlike a remittance of a case to the Court of Session, the Sheriff Appeal Court can refer a point of law on its own initiative under Section 120 Paragraph (2)(b). The High Court

5880-625: The census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, Gaelic medium education in Scotland has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014. Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home. The effect on this of

5985-568: The cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However,

6090-446: The civil rules were instituted by the Court of Session through Act of Sederunt that came into force on 1 January 2016. The judges of the Sheriff Appeal Court are known as appeal sheriffs, with all sheriffs principal ex officio being appeal sheriffs. To be eligible for appointment as an appeal sheriff a person must have served at least five years as a sheriff. Appeal sheriffs also hear appeals in civil cases that previously went to

6195-450: The concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland. Some commentators, such as Éamonn Ó Gribín (2006) argue that

6300-406: The courts system should be able to manage at which level a case was heard. In Scotland it had been up to the pursuer to choose whether to initiate a case in either the sheriff courts or the Court of Session , as they both shared concurrent jurisdiction for all civil cases with a value greater than £ 5,000. The Scottish Government proposed increasing this limit to £ 150,000, but the final limit

6405-432: The creation of the Sheriff Appeal Court and the increase in the limit for exclusive jurisdiction of the sheriff courts for civil cases. The Faculty asserted that the Court of Session was already effective in dealing with civil cases, would remove choice for the litigant , and would deny them the right to appoint counsel (an advocate .) The Faculty's concerns were also related to the Sheriff Personal Injury Court . As there

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6510-408: The definitive sentence is unique, in the sense that (except for appeal hearings) no individual can be judged or sentenced more than once for the same actions. In many jurisdictions, sentences are a source of law , in that they represent an authoritative interpretation of the law in concrete cases. The sentence is typically determined by a judge and/or jury, and is issued in the name or on behalf of

6615-499: The dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands. Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of

6720-485: The early modern era . Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as Inglis ("English") by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called Scottis ("Scottish"). Beginning in the late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis . Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so

6825-448: The early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Regardless of how it came to be spoken in the region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the eighth century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to

6930-456: The eighth century. For the first time, the entire region of modern-day Scotland was called Scotia in Latin, and Gaelic was the lingua Scotica . In southern Scotland , Gaelic was strong in Galloway , adjoining areas to the north and west, West Lothian , and parts of western Midlothian . It was spoken to a lesser degree in north Ayrshire , Renfrewshire , the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire . In south-eastern Scotland, there

7035-431: The first time. However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers, following an appeal in the court case of Taylor v Haughney (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the High Court ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings. While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status,

7140-479: The initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English. Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities. In

7245-419: The justice of the peace and sheriff courts. They did stipulate that appeals should be heard in the sheriffdom from which the case originates. The Committee also noted support for the establishment for the Sheriff Appeal Court from the Scottish Legal Aid Board , Compass Chambers, Justice Scotland , the Law Society of Scotland , and Citizens Advice Scotland . However, the Faculty of Advocates rejected both

7350-420: The language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / GAL -ik in English . However, "Gaelic" / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik also refers to the Irish language ( Gaeilge ) and the Manx language ( Gaelg ). Scottish Gaelic is distinct from Scots , the Middle English -derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by

7455-474: The language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland, a dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census , 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census . There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia , with historic communities in other parts of Canada having largely disappeared. Scottish Gaelic

7560-502: The language. Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people. This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and Bòrd na Gàidhlig took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed. The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ( Na h-Eileanan Siar ), where

7665-460: The language. These omit the English translation entirely. Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time. Sentence (law) If

7770-535: The legal system regards as the purpose of punishment. The most common purposes of sentencing are: The individual is deterred through fear of further punishment. The general public are warned of likely punishment. In England and Wales, section 142 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has specified that in cases involving those over 18, courts should have regard to punishment of the offenders retribution, deterrence, reform and rehabilitation, protection of

7875-495: The lower value end of the spectrum that advocates can obtain the experience early in their careers which equips them, as their careers develop, to undertake higher value complex litigation. Thus, they concluded the reforms could harm the long term viability of the legal profession in Scotland. As it was, the Scottish Parliament passed the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 which, in Section 108, requires any sheriff court (including

7980-459: The members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loss of life due to World War I and the 1919 sinking of the HMY Iolaire , combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in monolingual speakers and

8085-734: The mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary. Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or velarised l ( l̪ˠ ) as [w] , as in the Lochaber dialect. The Endangered Languages Project lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users". UNESCO classifies Gaelic as " definitely endangered ". The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay. The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of

8190-532: The modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language. The Statutes of Iona , enacted by James VI in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on

8295-411: The offender with and what facts they will seek to prove or to ask the defendant to stipulate to in a plea agreement . It has been argued that legislators have an incentive to enact tougher sentences than even they would like to see applied to the typical defendant since they recognize that the blame for an inadequate sentencing range to handle a particularly egregious crime would fall upon legislators, but

8400-695: The official language of government and law. Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the Wars of Scottish Independence was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's The Brus (1375) and Blind Harry's The Wallace (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'. A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through

8505-459: The outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities. It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in

8610-560: The overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the Highlands (5.4%) and in Argyll and Bute (4.0%) and Inverness (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is Glasgow with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers. Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in

8715-466: The prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the Gàidhealtachd . In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in

8820-483: The provisions of the Court Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 to extended civil appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court. The Sheriff Appeal Court has exclusive jurisdiction for all appeals in summary criminal proceedings and appeals relating to bail decisions, in both summary and solemn proceedings , from the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts . Decisions of the Sheriff Appeal Court may only be appealed to

8925-411: The public, and reparation to persons affected by their offences. Usually, the sentence comes at the end of a process in which the presiding judge or judges have been enabled to evaluate whether the conduct in question complies or does not comply with the law , and which aspects might be breaches of which specific legislation. Depending on jurisdiction, the stages leading up to the sentence may vary, and

9030-524: The putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned the age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common Q-Celtic -speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age. These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending

9135-460: The reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there

9240-535: The region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity

9345-403: The request of either party to a case . The Sheriff Appeal Court can refer questions of law to the High Court of Justiciary under Section 120 of the 2014 Act. The referral can be granted either at the request of either party litigant , or on the Court's own initiative. The High Court is then able to answer the question of law, and to further direct the Sheriff Appeal Court on how to deal with

9450-410: The sentence is mainly the final act of any procedure in which a judge or body of judges is called upon to express their evaluation. It can therefore be issued in practically any field of law requiring a function of evaluation of something by a judge or judging body. Sentences are variously classified depending on The sentence meted out depends on the philosophical principle used by the court and what

9555-411: The sentence may be challenged by both parties up to a given degree of appeal . If appealed against, the sentence issued by the highest appellate court to which the case is admitted becomes the definitive sentence. The sentence usually has to be publicly announced; and, in most jurisdictions, has to be justified through an explanation of the juridical reflections and evaluations that lie behind it. Even

9660-412: The sheriff and justice of the peace courts . The Scottish Government accepted Lord Gill's recommendation on criminal appeals, and asserted that would lead to the more coherent and consistent body of case law that Lord Gill sought. The Scottish Government proposed that the Sheriff Appeal Court would be composed of the 6 sheriffs principal of Scotland, plus six full-time Appeal Sheriffs. The view taken by

9765-404: The sheriff principal. The President of the Court is Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen, QC, whose sheriffdom is Lothian and Borders , and the Vice President of the Court is Sheriff Principal Ian Abercrombie, QC, who sheriffdom is South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. There are a further 15 appeal sheriffs, including all of the other serving sheriffs principal. The administration of the court

9870-466: The sheriffs principal.) Most of these appeals did not raise complex questions of law and thus could be dealt with by a new national court. So he recommended the creation of the Sheriff Appeal Court to deal with these appeals. He did propose that, with leave, further appeals could be made to the Inner House, and this would allow for complex or important questions of law to be dealt with by the Senators of

9975-445: The statutory test to warrant a remit to the Court of Session. For such to be the case this court requires to find that the case raises a point of wider interest which will have general application. We preferred the submission of the respondent to the effect that the case should not be viewed as having the prospect of establishing an important precedent. The Appeal Sheriffs believe that the appellants arguments would potentially allow for

10080-492: The term with this meaning was in Roman law , where it indicated the opinion of a jurist on a given question, expressed in written or in oral responsa . It might also refer to the opinion of senators that was translated into the senatus consultus . Finally, it might also refer to the decision of the bench in both civil and penal trials, as well as the decision of the arbiters in arbitration . In modern Latin systems,

10185-469: The time to conclusion of cases. Lord Gill was critical of the civil justice system in place at the time, describing it as "a Victorian model that had survived by means of periodic piecemeal reforms", and concluding that, "It is failing the litigant and it is failing society." Lord Gill identified that 1 ⁄ 3 of civil appeals to the Inner House came from the sheriff courts, and that 2 ⁄ 3 of appeals from sheriff courts came direct (bypassing

10290-481: The word Erse in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used. Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland, in the 4th–5th centuries CE, by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast in present-day Argyll . An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist Ewan Campbell , who has argued that

10395-399: Was accepted in 2008, and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment). Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that

10500-455: Was an existing common law test that required a sheriff court to sanction the use of counsel in a case. The Faculty was also concerned that removing low-value cases from the Court of Session would deny advocates who are early in their career the opportunity develop their litigation skills, and thus make it harder for them to be ready to handle high-value or complex cases. By the nature of things, it may be in relatively straightforward cases at

10605-728: Was forgotten. Bilingualism in Pictish and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish loanwords in Gaelic and syntactic influence which could be considered to constitute a Pictish substrate. In 1018, after the conquest of Lothian (theretofore part of England and inhabited predominantly by speakers of Northumbrian Old English ) by the Kingdom of Scotland , Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith. Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since

10710-491: Was long suppressed. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from

10815-510: Was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the Bible into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch produced

10920-427: Was set at £ 100,000 by Section 39 of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 . They also agreed with the establishment of the Sheriff Appeal Court to handle civil appeals from the sheriff courts of Scotland. Lord Gill recommended that appeals against conviction and sentence from the justice of the peace and sheriff courts in summary procedure should be remitted to the Sheriff Appeal Court, rather than, as previously,

11025-481: Was through the amendments process that the limit for civil actions in the exclusive jurisdiction of the sheriff courts was reduced to £ 100,000 The Justice Committee considered the proposals in the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill and published a report on 9 May 2014. In that report the Committee agreed with the creation of a Sheriff Appeal Court to hear both civil appeals and appeals for summary proceedings in

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