Civil cases show upturn in latest year

An upturn in the number of civil actions raised in Scotland's courts in shown in the latest civil justice statistics, covering 2017-18.

New cases initiated across the Court of Session and sheriff courts (excluding summary applications) were up 10% to 81,200 compared with 2016-17, only the second increase in court business levels over the last 10 years. This change took place in the context of far-reaching reforms to the conduct of court business, intended to make the resolution of civil disputes simpler and cheaper.

Business has moved out of the Court of Session, decreasing by 48% since 2015-16, mostly to sheriff courts, where the value limit for cases on which only sheriffs can rule has increased to £100,000. The specialised Sheriff Personal Injury Court has expanded its caseload since its inception in 2015-16, and now covers over a third of personal injury cases in Scotland.

The types of civil justice problems encountered by people in Scotland and resolved in the courts have not changed much over the past 10 years. Debt actions remain the most common, constituting 46% of cases. Eviction and family actions were second and third most common, at 18% and 16% respectively.

Most case types increased in parallel with the overall rise. The largest increases were recorded for debt (+22%), repossession (+17%) and personal injury (+13%). However, family cases decreased by 5%. Three quarters of these had divorce as the first issue.

All sheriffdoms in Scotland experienced an increase in business levels from 2016-17. Tayside, Central & Fife saw the largest increase in initiated cases (15%), while Grampian, Highlands & Islands saw the smallest (4%).

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The 2017-18 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey revealed that nearly three in 10 adults were estimated to have experienced at least one civil law problem during the previous three years. The most common type of issues were disputes with neighbours (15%), followed by problems with faulty goods or services (5%), and money and debt issues (4%).