Party litigants rules to be reviewed following Justice Council study
A systematic review of court rules on lay representation in Scotland is to be carried out following a report into the problems faced by party litigants.
The review, by the Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) Access to Justice Committee, covers the research and literature on party litigants and the support available to them, and discusses the difficulties encountered by them. It looks at recent developments in other jurisdictions and examines the guidance, advice and support that is presently available in Scotland.
In 2009, the Scottish Civil Courts Review (SCCR) reported that there had been significant growth in the number of party litigants appearing in the courts of Scotland and recommended that there should be changes to court practice and procedure so that party litigants could “enter and navigate their way through the court process effectively”.
It was considered that “public legal education, self-help services, in-court advice services and lay representatives and McKenzie friends” would all have a role to play in supporting the party litigant.
The paper notes that the recently passed Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which implements many of the recommendations of the SCCR, provides for the introduction of a new simple procedure for lower value claims (to replace small claims and summary cause procedure in the sheriff court for claims under £5,000), which is to be designed with party litigants in mind, and contains provisions for lay representation of non-natural persons and provisions for vexatious litigants.
It also focuses on the current state of public legal education, self-help services and advice and representation services available, as well as judicial case management, a topic that will be one of the committee’s earliest priorities.