TEN sheriff courts and seven justice of the peace courts will close after Holyrood's Justice Committee backed changes to legislation, sparking anger among opposition parties.
SNP MSPs on the committee were accused of ignoring the weight of evidence in order to toe the Government and party line.
Members narrowly voted against Labour proposals to reject two parliamentary orders bringing the closures into effect.
Sheriff courts in Dornoch, Duns, Kirkcudbright, Peebles, Rothesay, Cupar, Dingwall, Arbroath, Haddington and Stonehaven will be closed, with business transferred to nearby locations. Many of these courts also have co-located justice of the peace courts.
Meanwhile, justice of the peace courts in Annan, Irvine, Motherwell, Cumbernauld, Portree, Stornoway and Wick will also shut.
Four SNP members and independent MSP John Finnie voted against Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald's motion to annul the orders while the four Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition MSPs backed it.
Justice Committee convener Christine Grahame and committee member Roderick Campbell were in the line of fire as they had defended sheriff courts in Peebles and in Cupar but ended up voting in favour of the closure package.
Ms Grahame said: "When I hear the senior judge in Scotland telling us this is the way forward, with the other issues built in which we can keep reviewing, I have to say I moved from being very sceptical to saying 'I think the man has made his case'."
Mr Campbell said: "I regret that, in a number of discussions, I have failed to change the Cabinet Secretary's mind as to the closure of the court in Cupar.
"I accept, however, the statutory instruments we are required to consider refer to a lot more courts than just Cupar Sheriff Court."
Mr Finnie, who resigned from the SNP over the party's stance on Nato, chose to back the vote.
As a Highlands MSP, he had questioned the proposals, but said: "I don't think any of us would choose to be in the position we are in. We are here because of Unionist cuts, that's not in dispute."
Opposition MSPs said the closures, put forward by the Scottish Court Service (SCS) and accepted by the Government, will mean witnesses and victims will have to travel further, while other courts may struggle to cope with increased case load.
Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes said: "Today's vote marks the beginning of the end for local justice in Scotland."
Conservative MSP John Lamont called on SNP members to "stand up for constituents".
Labour's Mr Macdonald said: "It is surely a matter of principle to this committee that local communities ... should have access to justice, and those accused of serious offences should, where possible, be tried by a jury from their local area, and should certainly stand trial as close as possible to their local community."
Law Society of Scotland president Bruce Beveridge said: "While we are largely in favour of the proposals on wider court reform, we remain concerned this closure programme will fail to provide proper access to justice or achieve significant financial savings."
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the closures were justified as a cost-saving measure and as part of reform of the justice system. He said: "We cannot deliver better access to justice by avoiding the need for change. It is right we examine structures that have served us since the 19th century. On balance ... this is the way forward."
The orders come into effect on June 29, with courts shutting between November this year and January 2015.
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