News In Focus
2 November 2007
Courts should be the last resort
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has said he wants to make courts the last resort in dispute resolution.
Instead, the minister told MSPs that alternatives such as arbitration, adjudication and mediation could be a more effective and quicker way of solving problems. He wants Scotland to become the leader in providing such alternatives - a move that could boost the Scottish economy by making the country somewhere global organisations would want to come to solve their disputes.
Mr MacAskill said there was at least one aspect of Scots law on arbitration that needed changing urgently because it dated back to 1695. The unsatisfactory state of the law in this country made it an unattractive place to arbitrate.
When asked whether the Scottish government would use alternative dispute resolution, Mr MacAskill said it depended on the circumstances, but the government would reserve the right to litigate.
An Arbitration Bill is to be issued for consultation next spring.