Within the Scottish legal system Justices of the Peace are trained volunteers who currently sit in the Justice of the Peace courts. These courts were introduced in 2009 as a replacement for the district courts (established in 1975), which in turn replaced burgh police courts. Justices sit alone or in threes with a qualified legal assessor as convener or clerk of court. They handle many cases of breaches of the peace – drunkenness, minor assaults, petty theft, and offences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
