Court fees: Society adds voice to concerns

The Law Society of Scotland has added its voice to the concerns expressed at the Scottish Government's proposals for raising fees for bringing court actions across the civil courts.

Ministers want to make litigants bear the full cost of running the courts, either by imposing a 24% fee rise across the board or through selective fee rises that wold mean much larger increases for some fees, especially in the Court of Session, while leaving others unchanged (click here for report).

The Society's President, Eilidh Wiseman, said in response: “We strongly believe that courts in Scotland should be a public resource and therefore have obvious concerns over proposed increases on this scale. When the Scottish Government last consulted on increases to civil court fees in 2015, we reiterated that we do not support the principle of ‘full-cost pricing’, as well as our reservations over the disproportionate effect increased court costs could have on small legal practices, ultimately reducing consumer choice.

“We will be working closely with members on our Civil Justice, Remuneration and Access to Justice Committees to respond to the consultation and we’re pleased the new Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs has already been in touch to ask for our views and arrange a meeting during the consultation period.”