Bailie

Bailie is a Scottish term for a municipal officer or lay magistrate in a burgh. Historically, bailies were part of the town’s local government, serving alongside the provost and other officials. They were responsible for a range of duties, including supervising markets, licensing, policing, public works, and the administration of minor justice. Bailies sat on the burgh’s courts to adjudicate petty civil and criminal matters and could preside in the provost’s absence. In many towns, depute bailies assisted or acted as substitutes.

Origins and terminology: The title derives from the Old French bailli, meaning a bailiff or magistrate, and it is related to variants such as baillie or bailie. The office reflects Scotland’s medieval and early modern municipal governance structures, and the term appears in legal and historical records across Scottish burghs.

Modern context: In contemporary Scotland, the formal office of bailie has largely been absorbed into broader local-government structures, and the role is less common in day-to-day administration. The title, however, persists in historical descriptions and is sometimes used ceremonially or honorifically in certain towns. Bailie also exists as a Scottish surname (often spelled Baillie), inherited by families from ancestral association with the office.

See also: Baillie (surname). The term should not be confused with the English legal term bailiff, though both share a common origin in medieval European governance.