Section 6 (Abolition of temporary sheriffs)
19.Section 6(1) repeals section 11(2) of the 1971 Act and accordingly abolishes the office of temporary sheriff. Section 6(2) makes provision allowing temporary sheriffs to complete cases which had begun before them (in practice, before 11 November 1999, when the Scottish Ministers announced the suspension of the use of temporary sheriffs) but which were not concluded at the date of the office being abolished. The abolition follows a High Court judgement that a temporary sheriff was not an independent and impartial tribunal for the purposes of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.