The Lord President, Lord Carloway today, Friday 3 February 2017, formally inaugurated two new courtrooms at Glasgow High Court.
In recent years the reporting and detection of crimes, particularly sexual offences, has increased significantly. This reflects proactive policing and prosecution and greater victim confidence to report crimes, including historic sexual and physical abuse. These cases have not only increased in number but are also complex, requiring more court time, with fewer guilty pleas ahead of trial.
As a result there has been a 60% increase in the number of High Court cases that proceed to trial over the last four years. This increase is unprecedented.
Speaking at today’s launch Lord Carloway said: “These new courtrooms are much needed and together with planned High Court accommodation as part of the new Inverness Justice Centre, meet our aim of ensuring that the majority of High Court trials take place in dedicated specialist facilities across Scotland that are designed to meet the needs of the modern trial, with appropriate security and technology to support the presentation of digital evidence. However, continually creating court capacity is not sustainable and instead we must look to the radical reform of current processes, which are identified in the SCTS “Evidence and Procedure Review – Next Steps” report.
“Since the publication of that report the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has, through further wide-ranging collaboration, revised and reviewed the recommendations and will soon announce initial steps designed, for example, to remove vulnerable children from our courtrooms.
“These courtrooms have been designed with the future in mind. The presiding Judge will have the facility to view pre-recorded testimony, both examination in chief and cross-examination, of children and other vulnerable witnesses, as well as other audio-visual statements admitted as evidence of fact.
“In the courts of the future, active case management by Judges will make sure cases are prepared and ready to proceed on the day that they first call in court for trial. There will be agreement in advance to ensure that only contentious evidence requires to be heard. Digital evidence and remote hearings from prisons and other venues will be routine. These changes will provide justice more directly, more effectively and more efficiently.
“Radical reform, exploiting the opportunity which digital technology presents, is needed to make sure we continue to have a justice system that matches public expectations in the 21st century.”
There are now 8 Trial Courts and one Preliminary Hearing Court in Saltmarket, Glasgow. There are three High Court Centres in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen with designated High Court business also heard in certain Sheriff Courts, although cases can be heard anywhere in Scotland if required.
The cost of adapting the Grade A listed building to create two new courtrooms along with the associated accommodation for jury rooms, jury dining, judges’ chambers, witness rooms and custody holding cells adjacent to the new courts within the existing Court building was just under £2million. The design challenge in this project was considerable and the architect was Michael Laurie, with the main contractor Morris and Spottiswood.