Civil justice

The Scottish Government has issued a consultation to seek views on proposals to revise court fees in Scotland so that the fees raised in Scottish courts continue to contribute appropriately to the cost of the business undertaken in those courts.

Following the pandemic; the Covid emergency legislation supported the change to a more modern approach which sees those same notices being advertised online.  The feedback the Council has received from practitioners is that they would like to permanently retain the use of that modernised digital service. This consultation seeks views on the rule changes needed to achieve that, which in turn will bring the centuries old legal tradition of using the physical “walls of court” to an end.

The Scottish Government’s Civil Justice Division are looking at the process for low value personal injury claims resulting from road traffic accidents in Scotland and gathered views on how the current process is working in practice and on possible reforms.

Read our response.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council sought feedback on the merits of having one consolidated set of rules for the majority of “ordinary” actions initiated for cases over £5,000 in the sheriff courts, and for cases over £100,000 initiated in the Court of Session.

The SCJC consultation is available here - Targeted Consultation: Ordinary Procedure Rules.

Read our response.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council initiated a review of the rules that support the operation of the Inner House and has issued a targeted consultation, which seeks feedback from the judiciary, practitioners and court officials, on proposed changes to the Inner House rules.

The SCJC consultation is available to read on its website.

Read our response.

The Scottish Law Commission's discussion examines the law of damages for personal injury to consider whether, and if so how, any clarification or reform of the law to reflect societal change should be undertaken. The Commission invited views from anyone with an interest in the subject matter.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation

  • This consultation sought views on whether the UK should sign and ratify the Singapore Convention on Mediation 2018 and ran from 2 February 2022 to 11:59pm on 1 April 2022

Consultation on the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (New York, 2018)

  • This consultation sought views on whether the UK should become party to the Singapore Convention on Mediation 2018 and implement it in UK domestic law.
  • Read our response.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) has issued a consultation on the Rules Covering the Mode of Attendance at Court Hearings

The Scottish Government has issued a consultation on Part 1 of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018.

The Ministry of Justice has issued a consultation which forms part of the review of the framework under which the personal injury discount rate is set.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has issued an updated draft practice note from the Court of Session, dealing with judicial review applications.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council has issued a consultation on the draft rules of court for fatal accident inquiries in the sheriff court. The draft rules are designed to encourage the expeditious progress of fatal accident inquiries and make the most efficient use of time spent in court.

Civil Justice Committee

Promotes the interests of solicitors by examining and questioning the current methods used to resolve all civil disputes.

Read more

Our input to parliamentary bills

To help shape good law, we regularly provide responses and briefings related to bills from Holyrood and Westminster.

Read more

Influencing the law and policy

One of the main functions of our policy team, along with our network of volunteers, is to analyse and respond to proposed changes in the law.

Read more

In this section