Civil Courts Review
The Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review was launched by the Lord Justice Clerk, the Rt Hon Lord Gill, on Wednesday, 30 September 2009. The Report, which is in two volumes, is now available to download below. A full summary of the recommendations made in the Report is included in both volumes. A synopsis of the Report is also available to download. :
- Volume 1 Chapter 1 - 9 (2.99Mb)
- Volume 2 Chapter 10 - 15 (2.16Mb)
- Synopsis (215Kb)
If you would like a hard copy of the Report, please address all requests to Margaret Cornwall at:
The background to the decision to undertake a review of the civil courts is set out in Chapter 3 of the report published by the Scottish Government entitled 'Modern Laws for a Modern Scotland' at www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/165338/0045028.pdf.
The review began its work on 2 April 2007 following the announcement of the then Minister for Justice that the Lord Justice Clerk, the Rt Hon Lord Gill, was to head a review of the civil courts in Scotland with a view to making recommendations for changes to improve access to civil justice, promote early resolution of disputes, make the best use of resources and ensure that cases are dealt with in ways which are proportionate to the value, importance and complexity of the issues raised.
A formal consultation document Scottish Civil Courts Review - a consultation document was published in November 2007. Over 200 responses to the Consultation Paper were received and all except those submitted on a confidential basis are available here, Responses to the Consultation Paper.
Scottish Ministers published their formal response to the Scottish Courts Review in November 2010. The response accepeted Lord Gill's analysis and the majority of his recommendations and committed to taking forward legislation and other changes necessary to deliver reform to Scotland's civil courts.
In September 2011, Scottish Ministers published a Consultation Paper on the Creation of a Scottish Civil Justice Council. The Council's purpose, once established, would be to assist the Lord President in reviewing and making changes to the civil procedure rules of court and, therefore, pave the way for future reform and modernisation of the civil courts.
Civil Courts Review: