The Sheriff Court in Scotland has legal authority over a wide range of family law cases, including:

• 💔 Divorce & Separation
• 👶 Children’s Matters
• 💷 Maintenance (Aliment)
• 🌳 Declarator of Parentage / Non-Parentage

💔 Divorce & Separation

The Sheriff Court can handle a divorce or judicial separation case only if specific jurisdiction rules are met.

✅ Jurisdiction Conditions

The court has jurisdiction if:

1. One spouse or partner is either:
   • 🏠 Domiciled in Scotland at the time the case is started OR
   • 📆 Habitually resident in Scotland for at least 1 year before the case starts.
   • Has lived in the sheriffdom for the 40 days before the case started.
   • OR lived there for 40 days ending no more than 40 days before the case started and has no current address in Scotland.

📜 Ancillary Orders

If the Sheriff Court has divorce jurisdiction, it can also make or change:

• 👶 Orders about children
• 💷 Aliment (maintenance)
• 💰 Financial provision orders

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👬 Civil Partnerships

The same jurisdiction rules apply to:

• Dissolution of a civil partnership.
• Judicial separation of civil partners.
• Annulment of a civil partnership.

At least one partner must meet the residency/domicile requirements for the Sheriff Court to act.

👶 Children’s Matters

The Sheriff Court has powers under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 to make orders about:

• 👩‍👦 Parental responsibilities
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Parental rights
• 🛡️ Guardianship
• 💰 Administration of a child’s property

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📍 Jurisdiction Conditions

The Sheriff Court can make a section 11 order (an order relating to a child) if:

• The child is habitually resident in the sheriffdom, OR
• The child is in Scotland but not habitually resident in the UK and one party is habitually resident in the sheriffdom, OR
• The child is present in the sheriffdom and urgent protection is needed

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⚡ Emergency Orders

The court should only take jurisdiction without normal conditions in a genuine emergency – where immediate action is needed to protect the child.

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🔄 Remitting to Court of Session

In complex or high-profile cases (e.g., involving international issues), the Sheriff Court can transfer the case to the Court of Session.

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💷 Maintenance (Aliment)

Maintenance jurisdiction is set out in the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982.

The Sheriff Court can handle maintenance cases if:

• The defender is domiciled in the sheriffdom.
• The person owed maintenance (creditor) is domiciled or habitually resident there.
• The maintenance claim is linked to a divorce case.

Special case: Actions for affiliation and aliment (proving paternity and claiming support) are maintenance matters even if not linked to other proceedings.

🌳 Declarator of Parentage / Non-Parentage

A declarator is a court order officially stating whether someone is or is not a child’s parent. A sheriff court will look at the evidence available to determine parentage, where that person is not registered on the child’s birth certificate. A declarator of parentage can exist without being registered on the child’s birth certificate.

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🏛️ Where It Can Be Raised

A declarator can be brought in:

• The Court of Session, or
• The Sheriff Court (only if certain rules are met)

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