"Significant reduction" in court waiting times, Lord President predicts

A significant reduction in waiting times for civil first instance and appellate hearings in the Court of Session was predicted yesterday by the Lord President, Lord Carloway, in his address to mark the opening of the new legal year.

Lord Carloway said that with the moving of business out of the court through the recent court reforms, appeal time was already reduced to eight months, including judgment, and civil proofs of four days were now fixed within six months of a request – but "further work requires to be carried out" to accommodate longer proofs.

The abolition of court terms, and the provision of additional Outer House judges, were also having an effect, and judges were being allowed more writing time.

For criminal business, "The High Court is already processing solemn appeals as efficiently as is reasonably practicable with disposals occurring within six months of the grant of leave. It is anticipated that far fewer criminal appeal courts will be needed in the coming months...

"I remain very conscious of the fact that almost all High Court cases require an extension of time. However, I do not consider that this is caused by an inefficiency in the system. Rather, the introduction of enhanced disclosure, the need to search electronic databases and social media and advances in forensic science have made it all but impossible to comply with timescales set in a different era whilst at the same time accommodating the diaries of parties’ legal representatives."

All sheriff courts were now fixing summary trial diets "within the optimal 16 week timescale", and in under 10 weeks for domestic abuse cases.

However the Lord President acknowledged that progress with the new digital integrated case management system in the sheriff civil court had been slower than hoped, and it was likely to be some time before it was introduced to the Court of Session. But the "enormously ambitious" rules rewrite project "continues apace"; and the digitisation of summary criminal work was in hand, along with the digital recording of witness evidence.

Click here to view the full address.