Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971

5Qualification for offices of sheriff principal and sheriff

(1)A person shall not be appointed to the office of sheriff principal or sheriff unless he is, and has been for at least ten years, legally qualified.

For the purposes of this subsection, a person shall be legally qualified if he is an advocate or a solicitor.

(2)Without prejudice to section 11(3) of this Act, in this section " sheriff principal" does not include a temporary sheriff principal and " sheriff" does not include a temporary sheriff or an honorary sheriff.