SCOTLAND  .

Civil.—In the Court of Session there are certain forms of summary civil proceedings by petition, e.g.with reference to entails, custody of children, guardians and factors of minors and lunatics, which are applications for exercise of the nobileofficium or extraordinary jurisdiction of the court (see Mackay, Court of Session Practice, i . 209, ii . 353) . Summary jurisdiction is given to justices of the peace as to the recovery of small debts . Criminal and Quasi-criminal.—The only act relating to summary jurisdiction procedure common to England and Scotland is the Summary Jurisdiction Process Act 1881 . Summary jurisdiction in Scotland depends chiefly upon the Summary Jurisdiction (Scot-land) Acts 1864 and 1881 . The acts follow, to Some extent, the lines of English legislation, but the sheriff and his deputies and substitutes are included in the definition of the court, as are stipendiary magistrates (1897, c . 48) . The acts also apply to proceedings before burgh courts, or burgh magistrates, and to justices of the peace where they have by other statutes power to try offences or enforce penalties . All proceedings for summary conviction or for recovery of a penalty must be by way of complaint according to one of the forms in the schedule to the act of 1864 . The English summons and warrant are represented in Scotland by the warrant of citation and the warrant of apprehension .

Where no

punishment is fixed for a statutory offence, the court cannot sentence to more than a fine of £5 or sixty days' imprisonment, in addition to ordering caution to keep the peace . The act of 1881 adopts certain of the provisions of the English act of 1879 as to mitigation of fines, terms of imprisonment, &c., and also gives a discretion as to punishment to a sheriff trying by jury in cases where the prosecution might have been by complaint under the acts . By the Youthful Offenders Act 1901, Scottish courts of summary jurisdiction have acquired the same jurisdiction as to offences by children as was conferred on English justices in 1879 . Appeals from courts of summary jurisdiction are now mainly regulated by the act of 1875 (38 and 39 Vict . C . 62), and proceed on case stated by the inferior judge . A bill was submitted to parliament in 1907 for consolidating and amending the Scottish summary procedure .