Holyrood passes Courts Reform Bill
Reforms to Scotland's civil courts first proposed in 2009 by Lord Gill, the current Lord President, are about to become law after the Scottish Parliament yesterday finally passed the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill.
MSPs unanimously approved the measure following a stage 3 debate that saw many further Government amendments approved, mostly said to be of a drafting nature, but ministers successfully resist a series of opposition amendments.
Among the defeated proposals were moves to guarantee Court of Session hearings for asbestosis cases, or appeals in such cases; provisions regarding seniority of members of the sheriff appeal court; attempts to extend the proposed time limit for bringing judicial review proceedings from three to six or 12 months, and to modify the "real prospect of success" test for granting permission for such proceedings; guidelines for the Scottish Civil Justice Council; the test for sanction of counsel; removing adoption and forced marriage cases from the jurisdiction of the summary sheriff; and the introduction of a "sunrise clause" to the bill.
The main reforms implemented include raising the exclusive competence of the sheriff court from £5,000 to £100,000; introducing summary sheriffs to deal with some types of criminal and civil cases in the sheriff courts; and establishing a Sheriff Appeal Court.
Speaking after the debate, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “Our courts have remained relatively unchanged for decades but this new legislation will bring about the most important change for Scottish courts for more than a generation.
“This is a hugely important step forward in making Scotland’s civil justice system more accessible, affordable and efficient for those people who need to resolve civil disputes.
“We have listened to and accepted concerns from some stakeholders and made amendments to ensure that people get access to the most appropriate legal representation in their cases.
“I am confident that the reformed courts structure, including the new national specialist personal injury court, will ensure that cases can be raised and dealt with quickly and effectively and there is easier and more affordable access to justice.”
Reactions
Kim Leslie, convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Civil Justice Committee, welcomed the bill as "a major step forward in civil court reform", in particular the introduction of specialist sheriffs, but added: “We do however still have real concerns about how the courts are going to resource some of the other changes, such as the change in the jurisdiction limit. This will have the knock-on effect of hugely increasing the number of cases going through the sheriff courts, where previously they would have been raised in the Court of Session.”
Regarding the new restrictions on bringing a judicial review applications she commented: “We still have serious concerns that a three month time limit to bring a judicial review application is unduly restrictive. Together with the requirement for permission to bring an action from the Court of Session, and the need to prove to the court that the application has a real prospect of success, this is in our view too high a test and will seriously reduce access to justice.”
James Wolffe QC, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said that while supporting some of its key proposals,
the Faculty continued to have concerns concern about the impact which some of the provisions of the bill would have on "access to justice for ordinary men and women with claims which matter to them – men and women who, at present, are able to access skilled and effective representation from independent advocates". He was "disappointed that more has not been done to safeguard the interests of those litigants".
Alan Rogerson, chairman of the Forum of Scottish Claims Managers, said: "We welcome the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill as a progressive, forward thinking piece of legislation. The establishment of a specialist Scotland-wide court to deal with personal injury cases, together with the £100,000 privative jurisdiction of that sheriff court, will improve access to justice and play an important part in the delivery of the reforms envisaged by Lord Gill in the Scottish Civil Courts Review."