News In Focus
23 November 2007
Gill review body launches major consultation
The review group looking at the structure and procedures of Scotland's civil courts, chaired by Lord Gill, the Lord Justice Clerk, has today published an extensive consultation paper on the civil court system.
Writing in the foreword, Lord Gill explains that the purpose of publishing the paper at this stage is to inform interested parties of the principal issues already raised with the review group, to report on the research undertaken to date, and to set out practicable options for reform.
Lord Gill was appointed in February by the then Scottish Executive to undertake the review, and the work of his group is expected to take about two years.
Reflecting the group's terms of reference, the consultation paper covers the themes of access to justice, the cost and funding of litigation, the structure of the civil courts, and the procedures adopted by the courts. It 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.
At the launch of the paper today 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."
The consultation can be read at http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/civilcourtsreview/index.asp . Responses are invited by 31 March 2008, to CivilCourtsReview@scotcourts.gov.uk . Further, more specific consultations may take place after that on individual topics before the review reaches its conclusions.