Survey running on remote civil court hearings

Legal professionals with experience of remote or hybrid civil court hearings over the last 12 months are being invited to take part in a survey to support evidence-based decision-making around their future use.

The Scottish Government has commissioned independent research company Ipsos and civil justice experts at the University of Glasgow to conduct research on remote hearings in the civil justice system, with a view to determining what has worked well and should potentially be retained and/or modified, and what has not worked effectively, particularly in terms of access to justice for potentially vulnerable groups. 

Given the diversity of the civil justice system, the research focuses on four main civil case types: family law, commercial actions, Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland cases, and Health & Education Chamber cases. 

A key element of this research is a survey to gather the views of justice sector professionals and members of the judiciary. If you are interested in sharing your views and have participated in remote or hybrid hearings for one or more of the above case types in the last 12 months, they would like to hear from you. 

The survey can be accessed here.

It should take around 15 minutes to complete. Responses will be stored securely and will only be used for research purposes – no findings will be released that would allow any individual to be identified. 

The survey will be open until 21 October 2022.

If you would like to know more about the research, please email CivilJusticeResearch@ipsos.com