Civil Courts Review
On 12 February 2007 the then Minister for Justice announced that the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, was to head a review of the civil courts
The review began its work on 2 April 2007. The formal remit is:
to review the provision of civil justice by the courts in Scotland, including their structure, jurisdiction, procedures and working methods, having particular regard to
- the cost of litigation to parties and to the public purse;
- the role of mediation and other methods of dispute resolution in relation to court process;
- the development of modern methods of communication and case management; and
- the issue of specialisation of courts or procedures, including the relationship between the civil and criminal courts;
and to report within 2 years, making recommendations for changes with a view to improving access to civil justice in Scotland, promoting early resolution of disputes, making the best use of resources, and ensuring that cases are dealt with in ways which are proportionate to the value, importance and complexity of the issues raised.
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 members of the Policy Group are
The Lord Justice Clerk
The Hon Lord McEwan
Sheriff Principal James Taylor
Sheriff Mhairi Stephen
Supported by a Legal Secretary, Lindsey Nicoll.
The Project Board will be assisted by a Policy Group, the members of whom are -
The Hon Lord Hodge
Sheriff Principal E F Bowen QC
Sheriff C Stoddart
Mr N Ellis QC
Ms Kirsty Hood, Advocate
Mr R Carr, Anderson Strathern WS
Mr L Montgomery, Scottish Legal Aid Board
Mr D Forrester, Scottish Court Service
Mr E Malcolm, Scottish Mediation Network
Ms S O'Neill, Scottish Consumer Council
Topics to be considered by the Review will include:
- the disproportionate cost of litigation, particularly in cases of lower financial value
- the potential benefits of specialised courts or tribunals and the balancing of demands between civil and criminal business
- the potential benefits of a greater use of case management
- the current structure and jurisdictional limits of the civil courts
- the scope for mediation as a means of resolving disputes
- streamlining of court procedures
A formal consultation document on these and other related issues is at Scottish Civil Courts Review - A consultation paper
The Consultation paper invites views on issues such as:
- whether the civil justice system should be designed to encourage early resolution of disputes, preferably without resort to the courts
- whether there are gaps in the current provision of civil legal advice or representation
- whether there should be more "self help" services for people who do not have a lawyer
- whether low value cases should be dealt with in a different way and, if so, whether this should be within the existing court structure or separate from it
- whether there should be a separation of criminal and civil business
- whether there should be a greater degree of specialisation within the civil courts
- whether the Court of Session and the sheriff court should retain their existing jurisdictions
- whether the current rights of appeal and appellate structure should be retained
- whether the division of the sheriff court into sheriffdoms should continue or whether there should be a unitary all- Scotland sheriff court
- whether the use of mediation or other methods of dispute resolution should be extended
- how modern communications and information technology can be harnessed to improve efficiency and access to the courts
- whether greater use should be made of case management and, if so, what form it should take
In launching the Consultation paper the Chairman of the Review, the Rt Hon Lord Gill said:
" I am pleased that so many people have taken the time to make submissions to the Review. We have tried to reflect the main themes in the Consultation paper , to summarise our research to date, and to set out the options for reform which we think are worthy of further exploration.
This Consultation paper is being issued to a wide range of organisations and bodies, including organisations which speak for consumers and litigants. We are especially interested in hearing from members of the public about their experiences of the civil court system. In this way we can ensure that their voice is heard and that their interests are central to any recommendations for reform that we make.
We are inviting responses to this consultation by 31 March 2008. After that, we may conduct more specific consultations on individual topics before proceeding to our conclusions."
Please email your comments to the Civil Courts Review Team : .
Read the Responses to the Consultation Paper.