Scottish Government
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Proposals to transform Scotland’s courts
Plans to improve the efficiency of Scotland’s courts and create new summary sheriffs to deal with lower-level civil and criminal cases are among measures announced today to further modernise the justice system.
The measures - in the Scottish Government’s Courts Reform consultation - follow recommendations set out by Lord Gill in his Scottish Civil Courts Review. They will lead to the largest overhaul of the court structure in a generation, including modernising procedures to ensure the courts are more responsive to the public’s need and enabling cases to be dealt with more swiftly and efficiently, at the appropriate level.
The key proposals in the consultation include:
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Increasing the threshold under which only the Sheriff Court can deal with civil cases from £5,000 to £150,000 so that more can be dealt with locally - freeing up the Court of Session to deal with the most complex disputes.
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The creation of a new judicial post – the summary sheriff – to hear lower value civil cases and less complex criminal cases. These sheriffs will have expertise in such casework and, in many cases, will use a new simpler procedure to resolve disputes fairly, swiftly and efficiently.
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The creation of a Sheriff Appeal Court to deal with civil appeals and less serious criminal appeals.
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The creation of a national personal injury sheriff court as a centre of expertise.
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Improvements to judicial review procedure, including introducing a three-month time limit for applications to be brought.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “The civil justice courts have remained relatively unchanged for more than a generation.
“These reforms will help us ensure that the right cases are heard in the right places and therefore reduce unnecessary delays, cost and bureaucracy.
“The proposals will also mean that Scotland’s top civil judges will deal with Scotland’s most complex civil legal cases, with others being dealt with in local sheriff courts where they will still be subject to the same level of scrutiny as before and will be heard more quickly and efficiently, for the benefit of all.
“The impact of current delays and high costs go beyond the courts themselves to the very businesses and individuals seeking both quick and efficient resolution.
“As part of our Making Justice Work programme, we are working to create a modern justice system that is fair, accessible and efficient and that better meets the needs of the people of Scotland today and these reforms are a key part of this.”
Gilbert Anderson, Senior Partner, DAC Beachcroft Scotland LLP who was Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow during the Scottish Civil Courts Review, said:
"I welcome the consultation on the Scottish Government's draft Courts Reform Bill coming as it does hard on the heels of the legislation which was passed last month to establish the Scottish Civil Justice Council.
“I very much support the other key recommendations of the Gill Review, namely, the substantial increase in the privative jurisdiction of the Sheriff court, coupled with the introduction of specialist sheriffs.”
James Dalton, Assistant Director Head of Motor & Liability, Association of British Insurers, said:
“The Association of British Insurers supports the proposed changes to Scotland’s civil courts. The changes should ensure that resources are allocated in a way which reflects the value and complexity of claims, increasing the efficiency of Scotland’s civil litigation system.”
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