SCJC opens family action case management consultation

Case management of family and civil partnership actions in the sheriff court is the subject of a public consultation opened today by the Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC). 

It focuses on recommendations by the SCJC’s Family Law Committee, which has been considering ways to improve how family actions are dealt with in the sheriff court, particularly in order to prevent undue delay in proceedings relating to the welfare of children.

Having commissioned research into the effectiveness of Chapter 33AA of the Ordinary Cause Rules 1993 and considered a policy paper on case management by the Scottish Government, the committee established a subcommittee in May 2017 to consider changes to rules. Its recommendations include:

• a new case management structure for all family and civil partnership actions in the sheriff court, not just those with a crave for an order under s 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995;
• allocating actions to a “fast track” or “proof track” procedure, as appropriate;
• greater judicial control over the sisting of family and civil partnership actions;
• the adoption of abbreviated pleadings and more detailed witness lists;
• judicial continuity insofar as possible;
• provision allowing all family and civil partnership actions to be referred to mediation; and
• greater judicial control over the use of expert witnesses.

The SCJC welcomes views on the recommendations.

Click here to access the consultation documents. The consultation will run until 22 August 2018.