UNCIVIL LAW: Watered down Civil Court reforms translate to more judges & specialist courts to satisfy business model of ‘lawyer only’ access to Scotland’s “Victorian” Civil Justice system

New court reforms claim justice will go faster. SCOTLAND’s embattled top judge, Lord President Lord Brian Gill has welcomed the implementation of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 – legislation aimed at reforming Scotland’s hugely expensive and out of touch civil justice system which features watered down proposals Lord Gill originally made over five years ago in 2009.

Among the proposed changes will see an increase the value limit of cases heard in the sheriff court from £5,000 to £100,000, and the swelling of Scotland’s already burgeoning judicial ranks with the introduction of summary sheriffs to deal with some types of criminal and civil cases in the sheriff courts and the establishing of a Sheriff Appeal Court and a specialist personal injury court of national jurisdiction within the sheriff court.

The legislative reforms – mostly designed to benefit the legal profession instead of fee paying clients & the wider public, come after Lord Gill and his team conducted a two year review of Scots Civil justice which began in 2007. Two years later in 2009, Gill – then Lord Justice Clerk – published his report and rounded on the stagnation of justice, branding Scotland’s courts as “Victorian” and unfit for purpose.

Gill (72) – who is fighting a bitter two year battle with the Scottish Parliament in an attempt to avoid members of the judiciary having to declare their interests such as sizeable, secret wealth, multi million pound property portfolios, links to big business, criminal records and offshore tax avoidance – issued a statement claiming the announced reforms, which only came about after an additional review of Gill’s original recommendations “will provide Scotland with a civil justice system fit for the 21st century”.

Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. The ‘reforms’ – which claim to speed up justice also target non lawyer and much cheaper McKenzie Friends, otherwise known as “Lay Representatives” in Scotland’s courts. The move, seen as a protectionist measure by the Scottish Government & judiciary to discourage people from using lay representatives, makes a MacKenzie Friend jointly liable with the person they are representing for all costs in a legal case if they lose.

Among other restrictions & sanctions placed on lay representatives, which do not apply to members of the legal profession, Section 98 0f the act states: Lay representation: supplementary provision (2) Provision under subsection (1) may include, in particular, provision— (g)  enabling the court, in awarding expenses against a non-natural person in any case to find a lay representative jointly and severally liable for the expenses.

The Lord President also confirmed his intention to appoint Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen as the President and Sheriff Principal Craig Scott as Vice President of the new Sheriff Appeal Court.

Lord Gill said: “These reforms will safeguard the integrity of Scots law by creating an efficient court structure. Every case will be heard by the appropriate court. The system will be accessible and cost effective for the litigant. My colleagues and I in the Review Team are particularly grateful to the Scottish Parliament for having passed into law almost all of our recommendations.”

Lord Gill added: “The process of implementation will now begin. I intend to appoint Sheriff Principal Stephen as the President, and Sheriff Principal Scott as Vice President, when the court comes into being.”

Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill who has remained a steadfast advocate of the legal profession, said: “I am delighted that this Government’s Court Reform Bill has become enshrined in law and has today received Royal Assent.Our courts have remained relatively unchanged for decades but this new legislation will bring about the most important change for Scottish courts for more than a generation. This is a hugely important step forward in making Scotland’s civil justice system more accessible, affordable and efficient for those people who need to resolve civil disputes.”

MacAskill continued: “We have listened to and accepted concerns from some stakeholders and made amendments to ensure that people get access to the most appropriate legal representation in their cases. I am confident that the reformed courts structure, including the new national specialist personal injury court, will ensure that cases can be raised and dealt with quickly and effectively and there is easier and more affordable access to justice.We look forward to working with our partners across the justice system to implement these reforms.”

However, despite claims the reforms will make justice faster, legal insiders and observers to Scotland’s courts expect little to change in what are the most adversarial, most inaccessible and most expensive courts & legal system in the entire European Union.

Civil Courts Review : Scots Justice still “Victorian” years after judge called for reforms:

The Scottish Civil Courts Review of 2009 authored by then Lord Justice Clerk, now Lord President Lord Brian Gill, castigated Scotland’s Civil Justice System as being Victorian, costly, and unfit for purpose, yet years on from the review, little of the proposed reforms have been implemented due to pressure from vested interests in the legal world, and a lack of political will to deliver access to justice to all Scots.

The Civil Courts Review can be viewed online here : Scottish Civil Courts Review Synopsis, Scottish Civil Courts Review Vol1 Chapters 1-9 & Scottish Civil Courts Review Vol2 Chapters 10-15

Gill, giving a speech to the Law Society of Scotland’s 60 year anniversary conference several years ago, reproduced in full here said : “The civil justice system in Scotland is a Victorian model that had survived by means of periodic piecemeal reforms. But in substance its structure and procedures are those of a century and a half ago. It is failing the litigant and it is failing society.

“It is essential that we should have a system that has disputes resolved at a judicial level that is appropriate to their degree of importance and that disputes should be dealt with expeditiously and efficiently and without unnecessary or unreasonable cost. That means that the judicial structure should be based on a proper hierarchy of courts and that the procedures should be appropriate to the nature and the importance of the case, in terms of time and cost. Scottish civil justice fails on all of these counts. Its delays are notorious. It costs deter litigants whose claims may be well-founded. Its procedures cause frustration and obstruct rather than facilitate the achievement of justice.”

Previous articles on the Civil Courts Review and reforms of Scotland’s antiquated civil justice system can be found on Diary of Injustice here: Scottish Civil Courts Review.

 

Top judge Lord Gill tells lawyers to ‘take opportunity’, says Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill will not reduce access to justice in speech to Law Society vested interests

Top judge reassures lawyers court reforms will not dent their profits or interests. IN a speech to multiple vested interests attending the Law Society of Scotland’s recent Annual General Meeting, Scotland’s top judge, the Lord President Lord Brian Gill has defended proposals contained in the Scottish Government’s Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill, claiming the reforms, based on recommendations of the 2009 Civil Courts Review authored by Gill himself, will not reduce access to justice as some lawyers claim.

The judge went on to tell the audience of those who make billions of pounds out of Scotland’s courts & clients each year that the reforms would instead offer opportunities to the solicitors’ profession.

Lord Gill, who has previously addressed the Law Society’s AGM in his capacity as Lord Justice Clerk, most notably when he criticised Scotland’s civil justice system as being unfit for purpose, and “Victorian” in its workings, was speaking as the first Lord President to address the AGM.

The speech “Looking over the horizon – life after the Courts Reform Bill” was intended to allay widespread fears within legal circles that lawyers fees, income and law firm’s profits will be hit by reforms to Scotland’s civil courts which include transferring cases of £150,000 or less to the Sheriff courts, where legal fees are significantly less compared with charges levied by solicitors for attending Scotland’s highest court, the Court of Session based in Edinburgh.

Speaking on the “private jurisdiction of the Court of Session”, Lord Gill said: “It has been recognised from the earliest  days of the  Review, that not all low value cases are straightforward. There can be many complicated issues  in any type of case, regardless of value. It is foolish to suggest that  all low value cases are straightforward. It is foolish likewise to suggest that all claims raised in the Court of Session involved complicated matters of law and procedure. Experience shows  that the  majority  of the low value claims  in the Court of Session  are  straightforward. In any event, the Bill makes  provision for cases to be remitted to the Court of Session in appropriate circumstances (clause 88).”

“Some respondents to the Bill’s consultation have raised concerns that the remit test is too restrictive. In my opinion, it is essential that the remit provisions are necessarily robust.No one wants to see the daily  sheriff  court rolls  or  those of  the Court of Session  clogged with motion after motion  for remits. That  would seriously undermine the principles of the Bill.”

“The increase in the privative jurisdiction and in time, the introduction of the specialist personal injury court should ensure that cases find their appropriate level in the court system. Expenses will be lower for the parties. Cases shall be dealt with more expeditiously than at present. The specialist sheriffs, in partnership with the profession, will  develop a body of specialist and authoritative case law.  A greater emphasis on case management and improved use of IT will  be introduced by way of court rules and  will  promote  a pro-active, front loaded litigation  that reduces the time spent waiting in court for short straightforward hearings.  At the same time efficiencies  will  be improved in the Court of Session.”

“The Court of Session  will continue to be the forum for high value  and  complex cases. Our hope is that these cases can be dealt with greater expediency as a result of the reforms,  so that cancellations of hearings  because of  lack of judges and/or court time  will be a thing of the past.”

“On the subject of the ‘development of Scots law’, Lord Gill claimed: “I do not expect that there shall be any reduction on the quality of decision making or any adverse effect on the development of Scots law.  It is to the credit of our shrieval bench that  the  great  majority of cases do not result  in  an  appeal to the higher courts.”

“In the main, the quality of decision making is good, and  is complemented by the Judicial Institute and the excellent  training  and support that  it  provides. The reforms as a whole will bring significant benefits to the quality of decision making in the sheriff courts.  The  introduction of the new tier of ‘summary sheriffs’  will  ensure that  summary crime, housing and low value financial claims are dealt with expeditiously at an appropriate level in the court system.”

“The summary sheriff will possess the same level of qualification and experience as sheriffs proper. The  new tier  will  remove a significant amount of business  from the daily work of the sheriffs, allowing them more time to concentrate on the more difficult cases.”

“The Sheriff Appeal Court will provide increased scrutiny in the decision-making and writing process  than under the present system where the  sheriff principal  sits  alone. It will have a greater understanding and insight into the daily workings of the sheriff court than is enjoyed by the Inner House.”

“When one views these aspects of the reforms together with the fact that at present, many  civil  appeals go no further than the  sheriff  principal, it is hoped that few  appeals  will  have  to  be taken from the Sheriff Appeal Court.”

“What opportunity does it present? It gives to every solicitor in Scotland the opportunity to develop skill in appellate advocacy and to develop an expertise that has hitherto been seen as the exclusive preserve of the Bar.”

On the “Right to Counsel”, Lord Gill said: “I accept that these changes shall impinge on the types of cases in which  counsel may be instructed  without  their fees requiring  sanction from the court. I do not accept however, that the implementation of the Bill  will  remove access to justice.”

“Those pursuers who, at present, choose to litigate in the sheriff court as opposed to the Court of Session have received no lesser  form of  justice. I do not accept that it is a requirement for  ‘access to justice’  that litigants are provided with the choice of litigating in a more expensive forum with the requirement that  counsel has to be instructed to represent their interests. Why?  Firstly, access to justice is inevitably and inextricably linked with affordability.”

Lord Mackay of Clashfern recognised that in address that he made to the Royal Society of Arts on that very subject: “There is no doubt that under our present [justice] system cost is a major barrier to using the law. Reducing costs should not be seen as an end in itself nor as an inevitability leading to a second-rate system of justice. Cost effectiveness pursued  in  the right way will lead to a more affordable system  and to my mind is the only logical way to expect access to justice to be improved. I would like to emphasise that message. Affordability is the key to improved access to justice. Affordability to the taxpayer and to the individual.”

The  changes proposed seek to make the system more affordable for the client consumer.  That improves access to justice. Secondly, litigants are not being denied access to the courts, nor representation.

In conclusion, Lord Gill stated to the audience of solicitors: “The  prospects, in my opinion,  should make us optimistic. Our  civil justice system will be  fit  to serve  the  modern society  in Scotland that the previous generation of lawyers would not have recognised  and  will  promote the fundamental principles that I mentioned at the outset.    I am certain that the Law Society and its members shall not only survive the  legislation,  but shall adapt  to it in its  commitment  to excellence.  The reforms provide an opportunity for the profession to diversify, renew itself and to improve upon the  work already undertaken in the  Review. The opportunity is there for the taking.  I urge you all to embrace it.”

There was no mention in Lord Gill’s speech of transparency regarding judicial interests, an issue currently under consideration at the Scottish Parliament by way of Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland’s judiciary.

In terms of the lack of a register of judicial interests, litigants in Scotland’s courts currently have no basis to establish whether the judge hearing their case or even a judge involved in a criminal case, should be asked to recuse themselves or not due to conflicts of interest or financial and other interests that members of the judiciary are not keen on declaring openly. Therefore reforms of the courts as currently proposed do not go far enough to allow the public to determine whether cases are being heard fairly or not.

Previous articles on the lack of transparency within Scotland’s judiciary, investigations by Diary of Injustice including reports from the Sunday Mail newspaper, and video footage of debates at the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee deliberations on Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland’s judiciary can be found here : A Register of Interests for Scotland’s Judiciary

 

Fees please, not Justice: Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill encounters more opposition from lawyers vested interests in hearings at Scottish Parliament

Reforming Scotland’s courts for easier public access is opposed by legal profession. SCOTLAND’S “Victorian” civil justice system will be turned into even more of a train wreck” than it currently is, by the Scottish Government’s proposed Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill, according to representatives of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers who faced the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee earlier this week. The proposals to slightly widen Scots access to justice which are currently under consideration by the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee were originally recommended by the current Lord President, Lord Brian Gill in his 2009 Scottish Civil Courts Review.

The latest opposition from the vested interests of the legal profession to the planned changes to Scotland’s inaccessible courts come after last week’s evidence from the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates who are both traditionally opposed to any reforms to the courts which allow the public greater and easier access to justice without having to go through expensive solicitors and QCs.

The overall tone of all opposition currently put before msps against the planned changes to the courts boils down to this – don’t allow people to access justice on the cheap, or do it themselves without a battalion of expensive lawyers and other so-called legal professionals.

The coverage from Tuesday’s session of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee is available here :

Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill Justice Committee – Scottish Parliament: 25th March 2014

One of the more controversial aspects of the Courts Reform bill, that of transferring most of the Court of Session’s existing workload to the sheriff court by allowing sheriff courts to hear cases up to the value of £150,000, has drawn special ire from lawyers and advocates who claim the sheriff courts are currently overwhelmed with work and cannot cope with the increased workload.

However, the more obvious factor in many from the legal profession opposing the switch from Scotland’s Court of Session to the sheriff courts is that of fees.

It is well known solicitors, law firms and advocates, both junior & senior counsel would rather operate in the expensive exclusive and tightly controlled environment of the Court of Session in Edinburgh rather than scuttle around Scotland having to attend cases and possibly pick up a lot less in fees.

The Scottish Government have included in the bill plans for a specialist personal injury court which would take many of the cases being transferred from the Court of Session. However, msps heard more from lawyers who attacked this plan as being “seriously underfunded”.

In further evidence, Mr Ronnie Conway, who is the Scottish co-ordinator of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers also maintained that projected savings to the legal aid fund were “illusory” because 85% of legally aided cases were successful and costs were recovered from the defender.

Laughably, Alan Rogerson of the Forum of Scottish Claims Managers, told msps that insurers wanted cases to settle rather than ending up in litigation. Not really. Not if it the claim has anything to do with the Master Policy or is a negligence case involving a lengthening list of professions and public bodies.

The Law Society of Scotland and Faculty of Advocates have previously given evidence against the reforms, which are also opposed by trade unions for the effect they are said to be likely to have on damages claims brought by their members. Typically, the legal profession has come out against the court reforms, with both the Law Society of Scotland & Faculty of Advocates opposing the changes. However, Citizens Advice Scotland and the consumer body Which? are among those who support the plans, on the ground that they would simplify the process of litigation.

The Scottish Government issued a Press Release earlier this week showing that while the number of civil cases being heard at sheriff court level has been declining – down 10 per cent between 2011-12 and 2012-13, a 43 per cent drop since 2008-09, the number of civil cases being heard at the Court of Session has remained steady. Personal injury cases accounted for 79 per cent of cases raised in the General Department of Court of Session .

Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill said: “The latest civil law statistics underline why we need to reform Scotland’s courts and in particular ensure that the right cases are heard in the right courts, at the right time. As highlighted by Lord Gill, our civil justice courts have remained relatively unchanged for more than a generation and need to be made more effective and efficient.”

“At present too many cases, particularly lower value personal injury cases, are being raised in the Court of Session – clogging up the system and resulting in higher costs and delays for the parties involved. Through our court reforms we will ensure such cases can be heard at a new, national specialist personal injury court, where they can be dealt with more swiftly at a lower cost. This will have little impact on the sheriff courts themselves – representing only a three per cent transfer of civil cases – but will have a considerable impact on the Court of Session, enabling it to focus on more complex cases.”

 

Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill v Vested Interests: Law Society warns against taking £150K claims away from ‘Victorian’ Court of Session’s stranglehold on Scots access to justice

Can a Sheriff tell the difference between £5K & £150K? Law Society thinks not. REFORMING Scotland’s Courts is never going to be an easy task when the judiciary, the legal profession and some of the people who actually run the courts system have vested significant financial interests in maintaining the current way of how things are done in our expensive, mostly out of reach and much derided justice system.

When a business is highly profitable, closed shop and draws in billions for lawyers, law firms, judges, their relatives, and anyone else who earns their keep from Scotland’s justice system, then why change it? – the Law Society of Scotland told msps earlier this week in their submissions to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee who are considering the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill

After all, the poor little Scots client and their family, matters little to lawyers with pound signs in their eyes and the wealthy, secretive judges clinging desperately to their hidden interests and fat Fred Goodwin style pension books.

Unless by chance, that same poor little Scots client and their hard working family has a legal case, a family tragedy, or a damages claim which can be milked for fees right up to the last minute before the lawyer walks off into the sunset, leaving the client unrepresented on the steps of Scotland’s ‘highest court’ – the Court of Session – also known as the worst, most abrasive, most intimidating and most expensive highest court in the entire European Union.

And then, lets not forget those hard working Scots clients who happen to have a property or land which a solicitor works out could be his at the end of the case, leading to a not too lengthy repossession to pay extortionate legal fees, handed over to the solicitor in a wink by some smiling happy judge who fails to disclose his own wife runs the very same law firm who are also known to fiddle their fee notes on a regular basis.

Then of course, there are the criminal cases where, if there is a prospect of extorting a few more million from Scotland’s publicly funded annual £150 Million legal aid budget, it’s full steam ahead for lawyers and the legal aid board have to fork out or else.

So you just know when the idea of reforming Scotland’s courts comes along to the Scottish Parliament, the vested interests crowd will be there protesting about tweaks, turns and a lot of what is effectively window dressing, because fiddling about with the current stitch up may impinge on lawyers profits. Easy to spot, about as easy to spot as a judge lifting his tax dodging offshore trust from one island and making off with it to another.

This week, a number of vested interests published their submissions to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee on the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill. Unsurprisingly, the Law Society, Faculty of Advocates and the Solicitor Advocates all came out against many of the key proposals in the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill 18 March evidence session at Justice Committee, Scottish Parliament

The Law Society of Scotland said in it’s own submission that the proposals contained in the bill could adversely affect access to justice due to the insufficient resources being allocated to implement the major reforms.

The Law Society went on to express concern at the dramatic increase in the threshold for cases to be heard in the Court of Session (up to £150,000 from £5,000) and warned that this will result in a large transfer of cases from the Court of Session (where no one without a deep pocket and a bent brief obtains justice) to the sheriff courts – without a matching increasing in the number of sheriffs.

The Law Society also expressed concern about the proposed changes to judicial review in Scotland, which will introduce a three month time limit on judicial review cases. The Law Society has already warned that this will restrict access to justice, although anyone who actually bothers to read some of the Judicial Reviews handed down by the Court of Session may well wonder why anyone bothers asking help from what is effectively a wave through for injustice and the vested interests of big business.

Adding to the profession’s mission to keep the money rolling in, the Faculty of Advocates claimed the reforms will put the best legal representation out of reach for ordinary men and women and favour those with deep pockets – as if it doesn’t already. Ever heard the one about the QC, the bung and the ruined client? It’s a common joke around Parliament Square …

The Faculty went on to claim that one reason litigants pursue their cases in the Court of Session is because of the right to instruct counsel, who often act for pursuers on a no win no fee basis in personal injury cases. However, the Faculty forgot to explain to msps some of the other less professional ways in which Advocates end up very much in pocket even after allegedly representing someone on a no win no fee case.

In the Sheriff court, the Faculty said, use of counsel has to be sanctioned. Raising the threshold to £150,000 would therefore make it more difficult to instruct counsel, which the Faculty of Advocates claimed would reduce choice.

The Society of Solicitor Advocates also queried the impact of the Bill on access to justice, especially in relation to the lack of automatic sanction for counsel. It also warned that any financial savings that may be brought in by the changes will be “small and disproportionate to the detriment the changes will bring about,” and that the proposals will not make the justice system any more efficient, faster or less costly.

As usual, party litigants, those with out legal representation and anyone with a case which does not draw in big numbers, fails to get any mention.

All submissions of evidence for the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill can be read here: Submissions received on the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill

 

Seven years on, Lord Gill’s Civil courts reforms head to Parliament as Scots face prospect of little change on access to poor quality, expensive & selective civil justice system

Victorian and late, Civil Courts reform will change little in Scots justice system. SEVEN YEARS after Lord President Lord Brian Gill (then Lord Justice Clerk) was commissioned in 2007 to study Scotland’s expensive closed shop civil justice system which culminated in the unremarkable 2009 Civil Courts Review conclusion that ‘things had to change’, the Scottish Government have today finally announced plans to bring the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament for consideration by MSPs later this year.

The much heralded Gill Civil Courts Review published in 2009 which can be viewed online here : Scottish Civil Courts Review Synopsis, Scottish Civil Courts Review Vol1 Chapters 1-9 & Scottish Civil Courts Review Vol2 Chapters 10-15 has so far impacted little on how Scots are able to access justice in the Scottish courts. At the time, Lord Gill branded Scotland’s civil justice as “Victorian” and “failing society”. Little has changed from those criticisms some seven years on.

However, many of the reforms proposed by Lord Gill in 2009 which could have helped the man on the street gain a hearing in court have unsurprisingly been opposed by the legal profession and solicitors who are concerned they will lose their long held almost exclusive rights of audience and ability to charge whatever they want for legal services.

If anything, several of Lord Gill’s key recommendations published over four years ago including those which criticised the justice system as being expensive and out of reach in 2009, are now long out of date, due to the shocking and ever rising costs of legal representation and costs of court time and services which litigants have compared being akin to “extortion charges demanded by protection rackets.”

Published today, in what is clear an attempt to take the sting of the embarrassment suffered by Justice Secretary who yesterday lost his battle to the long held safeguard of corroboration of evidence from the criminal justice system, the Scottish Government have heralded a number of changes which are claimed as a substantial improvement on what is currently nothing short of a money spinning closed shop Civil justice business model for the legal profession, and the judiciary.

The Scottish Government claims the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill implements many of the recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review, led by principal reviewer Lord Gill and commissioned in 2007. Lord Gill recommended substantial changes to modernise and improve the structure and operation of the courts, which he described in the review as ‘slow, inefficient and expensive’.

The Bill will also modernise Scotland’s courts by introducing greater specialisation and enabling more user-friendly procedures. Key provisions in the bill include:

• Increasing the threshold under which the sheriff court can deal with civil cases from £5,000 to £150,000 – freeing up the Court of Session to deal with the most challenging civil disputes. This is expected to strengthen the role of the sheriff court, while reducing costs and delays for litigants.

• Creation of a new national personal injury sheriff court, where such cases will be heard by specialist sheriffs.

• Creation of a national Sheriff Appeal Court to deal with summary criminal appeals from sheriff and justice of the peace courts, and civil appeals from sheriff courts. This will help avoid the need for some civil appeals to be heard in the Court of Session and some criminal appeals in the High Court, delivering more proportionate costs, while preserving the right to appeal to the higher courts.

• Creation of a new judicial post – the summary sheriff – to resolve lower value civil cases such as debt cases more swiftly and efficiently, while also dealing with summary criminal cases.

• Plans for specialist sheriffs and specialist summary sheriffs in areas of law such as family, housing, personal injury and commercial law, with the expertise to deal with these issues as swiftly as possible.

• New procedures for judicial review cases in the Court of Session including a three month time limit, and new procedures for appeals within the Court of Session and some appeals to the UK Supreme Court to improve efficiency.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “As highlighted by Lord Gill, our civil justice courts have remained relatively unchanged for more than a generation and need to be made more effective and efficient. This bill takes forward our commitment to ensure that Scotland’s civil justice system becomes more accessible, affordable and efficient for those people who need to resolve civil disputes.

He continued: “At present many lower value personal injury cases are raised in the Court of Session costing the parties a disproportionate amount and clogging up the court. In future, most of these cases will be able to be raised in the specialist personal injury court with specialist sheriffs and procedures designed to achieve settlement swiftly and at a proportionate cost to the parties. The sheriff courts are well placed to handle this transfer as the total cases coming out of the Court of Session is only around three per cent of the civil caseload in the sheriff courts.

MacAskill, who was once a High Street solicitor went on to claim: “Our reforms will help us ensure that the right cases are heard in the right places – reducing delays, cost and bureaucracy. They will also offer clearer routes to justice and more specialisation for a range of cases, from personal injury cases to family law.”

The Lord President, Lord Gill, said: “With the introduction of this Bill Scotland has the opportunity to have a civil justice system that is fit for a modern Scotland. Delay and cost have been the bane of Scottish justice for decades. These reforms will enable the courts to deliver the quality of justice to which the public is entitled. I am grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice for his support for the proposals of the Scottish Civil Courts Review and for his vision in promoting this legislation.”

Which? Executive Director Richard Lloyd said: “Getting the courts working better for people must mean cases being dealt with quickly and cost-effectively. Which? supports the plans under the Courts Reform Bill to move business below the value of £150,000 in to the Sheriff Courts as this will mean more consumers will be able to seek redress for poor services or faulty goods. That will be good for consumers and good for the many businesses that play fair with their customers.”

The Scottish Government did not provide any supportive comments directly from litigants who have found it difficult to gain hearings in court, however Diary of Injustice can.

Commenting on the Scottish Government’s civil justice reform proposals, a personal litigant who has recently been charged tens of thousands of pounds for incomplete transcripts of court hearings before Scotland’s senior judges claimed the reforms do not go far enough.

He said: “It is all very well to produce press releases claiming advancements in justice but when litigants really need to use court services and find they cannot obtain legal representation, it is often the case court fees are too expensive, and of such poor quality that justice is unobtainable in the Scottish courts.”

He continued: “And even if you do have a solicitor, it will end up costing you thousands of pounds to achieve very little if anything.”

Speaking to Diary of Injustice today, a legal insider claimed the Civil Courts reforms will not serve to improve the image of Scotland’s expensive yet poor quality justice system at home or abroad.

He  said: “If the Justice Secretary hopes these piecemeal reforms will attract civil cases and other business to the Scottish courts, he will be sadly disappointed.”

He continued: “London’s courts, internationally respected and much less problematic than Scotland will continue to have clear advantages over the Scots model which is after all based upon a small jurisdiction widely associated with excessive legal fees, inferior legal services, and mounting problems with its judiciary.”

BACKGROUND TO CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM IN SCOTLAND

The Lord Justice Clerk, now Lord President, Lord Gill, author of the Civil Courts Review. The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, in his speech to the Law Society of Scotland’s 60 year anniversary conference several years ago, reproduced in full here said : “The civil justice system in Scotland is a Victorian model that had survived by means of periodic piecemeal reforms. But in substance its structure and procedures are those of a century and a half ago. It is failing the litigant and it is failing society.

“It is essential that we should have a system that has disputes resolved at a judicial level that is appropriate to their degree of importance and that disputes should be dealt with expeditiously and efficiently and without unnecessary or unreasonable cost. That means that the judicial structure should be based on a proper hierarchy of courts and that the procedures should be appropriate to the nature and the importance of the case, in terms of time and cost. Scottish civil justice fails on all of these counts. Its delays are notorious. It costs deter litigants whose claims may be well-founded. Its procedures cause frustration and obstruct rather than facilitate the achievement of justice.”

Previous articles on the Civil Courts Review and reforms of Scotland’s antiquated civil justice system can be found on Diary of Injustice here: Scottish Civil Courts Review.