The Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders is the head of the judicial system of the sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders, one of the six sheriffdoms covering the whole of Scotland. The sheriffdom employs a number of legally qualified sheriffs who are responsible for the hearing of cases in seven Sheriffs Courts based in Duns, Edinburgh, Haddington, Jedburgh, Linlithgow, Peebles and Selkirk. The current Scottish sheriffdoms were created in 1975 when the previous arrangement of 12 sheriffdoms was discontinued.

The Sheriff Principal, usually a Queen's Counsel (QC), is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister, who receives recommendations from the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. He or she must have been qualified as an advocate or solicitor for at least ten years and is responsible for the administrative oversight of the judicial system within the sheriffdom. The Sheriff Principal will also hear appeals against the judgement of his sheriffs, hear certain cases himself and occasionally conduct major fatal accident inquiries.

• 1978–1989: Sir Frederick F.W. O'Brien QC^[1]
• 1989–2002: Charles Gordon Brown Nicholson QC ^[2]
• 2005– Edward F. Bowen QC ^[3]
• 2011–present: Mhairi M. Stephen QC^[4]

• Historical development of Scottish sheriffdoms

v t e Scottish sheriffs

Current Glasgow and Strathkelvin Grampian, Highland and Islands Lothian and Borders North Strathclyde South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway Tayside, Central and Fife Former Aberdeen Angus Argyll Ayr Ayr and Bute Banff Berwick Bute Caithness Clackmannan Dumbarton Dumfries Dumfries and Galloway Edinburgh Elgin Fife Fife and Kinross Forfar Haddington Inverness Kirkcudbright Kincardine Kinross Lanark Linlithgow Lothians and Peebles Nairn Orkney and Shetland Peebles Perth Renfrew Renfrew and Argyll Ross Roxburgh Selkirk Stirling Sutherland Wigtown Scotland portal