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Civil Courts Review

On 12 February 2007 the Minister for Justice announced that the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, is to head a review of the civil courts.

The review will begin 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 Executive entitled 'Modern Laws for a Modern Scotland' at www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/165338/0045028.pdf.

The members of the Project Board of the review are:

The Lord Justice Clerk
The Hon Lord McEwan
Sheriff Principal James Taylor

Supported by a Legal Secretary, Lindsey Nicoll.

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 will be issued in September 2007.
In the meantime, we are interested in hearing your views on these topics and any other issues falling within the scope of the remit which you think that the review should take into account.

Please email your comments to the Civil Courts Review Team @ .