Exclusive : McKenzie Friends for Scotland ‘are go’ as Lord President yields to long running Holyrood ‘access to justice’ petition

Scotland’s top judge Lord Hamilton finally gives in on McKenzie Friends. A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY in the campaign and Holyrood petition to bring MCKENZIE FRIENDS to Scotland’s courts has been won this evening, with the publication of a letter from Scotland’s top judge the Lord President, Lord Hamilton, informing the Scottish Parliament that subject to the Court of Session’s Rules Council’s views, he intends that the Court will enact the relevant Act of Sederunt in May and that McKenzie Friends will be finally brought into force in Scotland in June 2010.

Lord Hamilton tells Holyrood : McKenzie Friends in Scotland by June. Lord Hamilton was visibly cautious against using the term “McKenzie Friend” in his letter to the Scottish Parliament, preferring instead to refer to the role of a McKenzie Friend as that of “lay assistance”. Lord Hamilton said : “Following my letter to you of 2 November, I asked two of my colleagues (being the judges responsible for administrative management in the Court of Session) to consider the matter of McKenzie Friends and to report back to me.In view of their report, I intend to bring forward for consideration at the next meeting of the Court of Session Rules Council (on 10 May) a draft of an Act of Sederunt amending the Rules of Court to give effect to the following policy:”

1. To acknowledge the possibility of lay assistance to the extent of (a) providing moral support; (b) helping to manage court documents and other papers; (c) taking notes of proceedings; and (d) quietly advising the party litigant on (i) points of law and procedure; (ii) issues which the party litigant might wish to raise with the court; (iii) questions which the party litigant might wish to ask witnesses. The lay assistant would be able to sit beside or behind the party litigant in court, as he or she wished, and accompany the party litigant at a hearing in chambers. The party litigant would be responsible for any expenses incurred by the lay assistant.”

Lord President to enact McKenzie Friends Page 2. 2. The lay assistant would not be able to act as the party litigant’s agent. He or she would have no authority to sign court documents. The lay assistant would have no right to address the court or examine witnesses.

3. There is a procedure whereby the party litigant informs the court of the intention that there should be such assistance and obtains the approval of the court of the person in question taking on the role. This is done by motion in the process which is intimated to the other party and which would normally be granted without a hearing if unopposed.

4. The party litigant would be entitled to communicate to the lay assistant information, including the court papers lodged in process, which otherwise he or she would not be entitled to see. Such papers may well be of a private and sensitive nature. There would therefore be a mechanism by which the lay assistant would acknowledge a duty of confidentiality and give an undertaking to use the information obtained from other persons in the process (whether parties or third party havers) solely for the purpose of the litigation. To enable the court to police the behaviour of a lay assistant and, in an extreme case, to exercise a sanction against him or her, the party litigant and the intended lay assistant should complete and sign a certificate to be lodged in process with the motion.

5. The certificate should (i) state the name and address of the intended lay assistant; (ii) give a brief summary of the lay assistant’s relevant experience and state whether he or she is related to the party litigant; (iii) confirm that the lay assistant has no interest in the case and is to receive no remuneration for his or her services in any form; and (iv) state the lay assistant’s understanding of the duty of confidentiality and his or her undertaking not to use any documents recovered in the process for any purpose other than the litigation. There would be an appropriate form containing the undertaking with boxes to be completed.

6. There would be a “presumption” in favour of allowing a party litigant to have a lay assistant. This would be achieved by providing that the court should grant the motion unless it is satisfied that it would be contrary to the efficient administration of justice to do so. The court would have the power to revoke the permission if the lay assistant were to behave irresponsibly or were otherwise to impede the efficient administration of justice.

Lord President to enact McKenzie Friends Page 3. That should assist to clarify the position in the Court of Session. Subject to the Council’s views, I would intend that the Court makes the Act of Sederunt in May and that it is brought into force in June.

It remains my view that going any further and allowing a lay representative rights of audience in the Court of Session is a matter for primary legislation. I do not therefore propose to take any further action in relation to this, save to say that this is of course a matter about which the Civil Courts Review has made a recommendation and that the Scottish Government will no doubt adopt a position on that recommendation in due course.

The burden of the matter in relation to the Sheriff Court lies with the Sheriff Court Rules Council. Different considerations may apply there, given that in certain circumstances it is already possible (by virtue of legislative intervention) for lay representatives to address the court. Nevertheless, I have made the Sheriff Court Rules Council aware of the action I am taking in relation to the Court of Session and I understand that the matter has been referred to one of their working groups for consideration in early course.”

Margo MacDonald MSP, ‘gem’ of the Scottish Parliament – It should be a right to have a McKenzie Friend. Crucially Lord Hamilton has now also conceded there should be a presumption in favour of allowing a party litigant to have a McKenzie Friend accompany them in court. This ‘right’ has existed in courts in England & Wales for a number of years and is included in the guidance on the use of McKenzie Friends in England & Wales. Prior to the Lord President’s letter to Parliament today, there had been considerable resistance by the Scottish Government and judiciary to bring the ‘presumption in favour of having a McKenzie Friend’ to Scotland’s courts, a right which has been considerably referred to by independent MSP Margo MacDonald, during hearings at the Scottish Parliament on the McKenzie Friends Petition 1247.

Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review recommended McKenzie Friends should have a right to address the court. However, Lord Hamilton confirmed that for now, McKenzie Friends, or ‘lay assistants’, will have no right of audience, and will therefore not be able to address the court, examine witnesses or sign court documents, although recent recommendations by Scotland’s Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill in the Civil Courts Review, did actually recommend McKenzie Friends should (when introduced to Scottish Courts) be given the right to address the court in certain circumstances.

Lord Hamilton went on in his letter to the Parliament, appearing to suggest in his letter to the Parliament that ‘relevant experience’ may play a part in deciding whether someone can or cannot be a McKenzie Friend, although some tonight queried that suggestion, as often the term “lay” refers to someone outside the legal profession and unconnected with it, whereas figures from the judiciary would like to see only legally qualified individuals as McKenzie Friends.

A senior solicitor said this evening : “I would be cautious about the qualifications the Lord President is apparently intending to impose on would-be McKenzie Friends, prior to the courts acceptance of their role. This does not, to my knowledge, occur in England & Wales.”

He continued : “I do feel that, while obviously someone intending to fulfil the role as a McKenzie Friend in a Scottish court should have to show they are at least capable of that role, I feel this “relevant experience” issue may prove an unnecessary barrier, and may even be used to bar people from the role of a McKenzie Friend who otherwise may perform very well.”

A senior official from one of Scotland’s consumer organisations welcomed tonight’s developments, saying : “We welcome the Lord President’s moves to ensure that consumers of legal services in Scotland will be able to avail themselves of the well proven and invaluable facility of having a McKenzie Friend by their side in a Scottish court.”

She went on : “However there are some potential stumbling blocks in the Lord President’s plans, which we feel are unnecessary and are very far from how McKenzie Friends operate in other jurisdictions. Nevertheless this is a first step and we look forward to see further developments and an implementation of Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review recommendations as soon as practicably possible.”

A legal insider studying the Lord President’s latest intentions on McKenzie Friends said tonight : “Apart from the fact that the Lord President has had to perform an abrupt about turn on his previously stated position I think it is a storm in a teacup. Worse, he adds certain additional provisos which only serve to muddy the water and all that is being offered is that already established by precedent. Nor does he offer any credible or detailed explanation of ignoring why Lord Gill’s recommendation that McKenzie Friends should be allowed to address the Court. The Lord President’s credibility rating was already zero, this does nothing to alter my opinion.”

Justice Secretary MacAskill & Lord Hamilton wrongly claimed McKenzie Friends had always existed. Clearly there are some problems still to overcome and many questions yet to be answered – not least the fact that on several occasions, both the Lord President and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill have claimed Scotland always had ‘supportive friends’ in courts, when in fact, no such ‘supportive friend’ ever existed. Enquiries to the Scottish Courts Service direct confirmed no such role, also confirming that McKenzie Friends had not existed in Scotland’s civil courts, despite further protestations from the Scottish Government to the contrary.

Also the quite considerable question of exactly why McKenzie Friends have been excluded from Scotland’s courts for some forty years, while many other international jurisdictions took on the McKenzie Friend facility after it first came into existence upon the result of McKenzie v McKenzie, 1971, remains to be answered, not least because the four decades long exclusion has led to a significant prejudice against Scots access to justice being regularly denied, particularly when law firms & solicitors refused, or were instructed by their governing body to refuse to represent individual litigants or groups in litigation which the legal profession itself did not wish to pursue for policy, political, or other reasons.

Court of Session judge Lord Woolman granted Scots their first use of a McKenzie Friend, while Parliament discussed petition. As we all know now, Scotland’s first Civil Court use of a McKenzie Friend, occurred during November 2009 in the long running damages action of party litigant Martin Wilson v North Lanarkshire Council & others. I reported on that first use of a McKenzie Friend, here : First use of McKenzie Friend in Scotland as Court of Session sweeps aside 40 years of lawyers monopoly over public access to justice

Well, at least McKenzie Friends are on the way for Scotland, officially .. and with some guidance, a presumption of a right, but of course, work still to be done by the looks of it. You can read my earlier coverage of the campaign to bring McKenzie Friends to Scotland, here : McKenzie Friends for Scotland : The story so far

All written submissions for the McKenzie Friend petition at the Scottish Parliament can be read here : Written submissions for Petition 1247, McKenzie Friends for Scotland

This has been a long campaign, thorny at times, and obviously there is still a long way to go to ensure Scots have the same rights & entitlements of access to justice as everyone else in the UK. Keep supporting McKenzie Friends for Scotland !

Finally, you may ask, what does it all mean to the layman ? Well, now, you don’t need a lawyer to get into court .. just find a McKenzie Friend, if you cant obtain the rather expensive, and many times, fairly poor services of a solicitor who many not be acting in your best interests anyway …

 

McKenzie Friends for Scotland still a way to go as Holyrood seeks clarity from Lord President on guidance, use & entitlements for court users

Lord President Lord Hamilton. LORD HAMILTON, Scotland’s chief judge is to be asked by Parliament to ensure guidance and information is available to members of the public seeking to use a McKenzie Friend in Scottish Courts, after it emerged today that two months on from Lord Woolman’s Court of Session ruling during November 2009 in Martin Wilson v North Lanarkshire Council & others, granting the first use of a McKenzie Friend in Scotland, members of the public are still being given contradictory from the Courts Service on whether they can or cannot use a McKenzie Friend in a Scottish court.

Currently, there are only two recorded uses of McKenzie Friends in Scotland’s civil courts, with both being forced to ‘sit behind’ the party litigant who requested their help & assistance, and no guidance yet exists on the Scottish Courts Service website or within Scottish court buildings, where litigants can find out how to request and use the services of a McKenzie Friend. Indeed, several reports have come in from individuals claiming many of Scotland’s regional courts know nothing of the McKenzie Friend issue, in some instances court officials claiming McKenzie Friends are not allowed, while others say its possible but not yet written into law.

The Scottish Parliament’s Petitions Committee, during its latest hearing on Petition 1247, McKenzie Friends for Scotland, debated the information provided by the Scottish Government, who claimed that information that a “mechanism of a supportive friend is already available in the Scottish Courts, in most cases, most of the time”, claims which were disputed by the Law Society, the Scottish Courts Service & Consumer Focus Scotland who all referred to the fact a “supportive friend” (a McKenzie Friend) had yet to be introduced to Scotland’s courts.

A Scottish Government insider claimed his colleagues in the Justice Department were reluctant to use the term “McKenzie Friend” as they had been caught short on the issue, after enquiries to the Scottish Courts Service revealed no such “supportive friends” (McKenzie Friends) had ever been used in civil cases in Scotland prior to Lord Woolman’s November ‘09 ruling, this coming after McKenzie Friends have been successfully used in England & Wales, and many other international jurisdictions for forty years.

He said : “There is no doubt about it. This 40 year gap where McKenzie Friends have effectively been kept out of Scotland by successive administrations and the legal profession, looks bad for all concerned. The Justice Secretary and Lord President who started this ‘supportive friend’ business both look a bit foolish for claiming something exists when clearly it does not and never has.”

McKenzie Friends for Scotland debated at Holyrood once more :

Margo MacDonald spoke further on McKenzie Friends. At last week’s Holyrood hearings on the McKenzie Friend petition, independent msp Margo MacDonald spoke further on the issue, saying : “The petition and the back-up material are self-evident. An opinion poll has been conducted and, although we should take the results with a pinch of salt, there is a consistent level of support—66 per cent—for the idea of McKenzie friends. We have had word from the bench—from on high—that it has always been open to litigants who defend themselves in Scottish courts, but there does not seem to be one view from the bench on the matter.”

Margo MacDonald then went onto criticise the current regime in the Court of Session, which requires a McKenzie Friend to sit behind the party litigant they are in court to assist. Margo MacDonald said : “The view that figures in our papers has it that “a McKenzie Friend must sit behind” the person in court. That is of no use at all, as anyone knows, because people need someone beside them. It seems a nit-picking point, but it is a matter of whether the support or information that can be given to the person pleading their own case is functional or dysfunctional. I personally think that it is self-evident. We should just do it.”

Murdo Fraser MSP (Conservative) also attended the hearing in support of the McKenzie Friend petition, commenting on the level of support in Scotland for the introduction & use of McKenzie Friends saying : “I will briefly expand on that. Margo MacDonald has referred to the Which? survey. To be precise, I think that 85 per cent of Scots who were surveyed said that it would be useful to have a scheme whereby those who could not afford or find a lawyer could have a knowledgeable friend sitting beside them—that shows the level of support for the McKenzie friend.”

Petitions Committee heard that a survey from Which? showed 85% support in Scotland for McKenzie Friends. Murdo Fraser went on to criticise responses from Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on the issue, which apparently avoid explaining the points under discussion. Mr Fraser continued : “I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on the matter before Christmas, and I got a reply on 31 December, which considered the idea of legislation to amend the current rules so as to allow lay representatives rights of audience. That misses the point. Mr Mackenzie is not looking for rights of audience for McKenzie friends; he just wants them to have the right to sit beside the litigant in court, not behind them. That is the point that Margo made well. All that requires is a change in the court rules. The procedure is simple, and I am not aware of any serious policy objection to such a change happening—it just needs to happen.”

Clearly, as in England & Wales, McKenzie Friends could easily exist in Scottish courts, with a mere change in the court rules, rather than the elaborate proposals of a legislative amendment to the Legal Services Bill, currently under consideration by the Scottish Parliament. However, as the Scots legal establishment have proved, and are still proving resistive to change, including the introduction of McKenzie Friends as they are used in the rest of the UK, legislation may well be required to ensure the public get the right to use a McKenzie Friend, rather than leaving the issue to be decided at a judges discretion on a case by case basis, which of course, the judges appear to prefer at this time.

Margo MacDonald raised the question of a McKenzie Friend being a right, rather than being left to the judge. Ms MacDonald said : ”As I should have mentioned earlier, there is also some debate as to whether we want the judge to have the determining voice on the matter. Should it be a right? I am not quite sure about that. I cannot see anything about that aspect in the papers that have come back to us.”

Nigel Don MSP (SNP). Nigel Don, the Parliamentary Liaison to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill appeared to criticise the Lord President for presenting two meanings of a McKenzie Friend, i.e. the “supportive friend” which has led to much confusion inside & outside the Parliament on this petition. Nigel Don said : “The papers that are before us are interesting, and they demonstrate that certain people have got the wrong end of some sticks. There is clear confusion as to what on earth a McKenzie friend is supposed to be. I thought that the Lord President put it kindly, saying that there are two meanings of the term. Actually, there was only ever one, but some people did not bother to find out what it was before deciding to call it something else. We now have two meanings, and that is not helpful.”

Mr Don continued, attempting to resolve the Lord President’s dual terms on McKenzie friends, saying : “If we go back to the original meaning, which is a friend who sits beside the person in court and helps them through, it is not difficult. I think that the Lord President is saying that he thought there was no reason for the possibility not to be there, but the rest of the papers seem to indicate that it was actually never there. However, that seems to have changed within the past few weeks. We should take it that there has been a step in the right direction, and we should not worry about why exactly that happened. It might be coincident with what is happening with the petition.”

Mr Don continued, saying : “If we can persuade our legal brethren and the gentlemen and ladies on the bench that it would be a good idea for the friend to be allowed to sit beside the party litigant, that would help—as I am sure judges would agree.”

On the subject of the Scottish Government’s proposals to make an amendment to the Legal Services Bill, giving McKenzie Friends a right of audience, Mr Don was less than enthusiastic, indicating the plan may well be dropped in favour of allowing McKenzie Friends to operate in Scotland as they do in all other jurisdictions.

Mr Don said on the rights of audience matter : “We need to be careful in the Parliament not to start telling judges what to do. Parliament has given, and the courts have acknowledged, rights of audience for lawyers. It would be very difficult to start deciding what the rights of audience should be for people who are not qualified as lawyers. It rightly belongs to the judge on the bench to decide what is helpful in that respect and what is not helpful. We must be careful how to phrase any recommendations on that point.”

“The other meaning—or rather, misuse—of “McKenzie friend” involves extended rights of audience for lay folk in certain circumstances. I suggest that, however important that point is, that is not what the petition is about, and it never was about that. That is a substantial issue that will have to be addressed in its own right at some point if we think that it is important to do so. I suggest that we cut that issue off from the clear purpose of the petition.”

Bill Butler MSP (Scottish Labour) also supported the drive to allow McKenzie Friends to sit beside their party litigant in court, saying : “I think that we should write to the Scottish Government and to the Lord President of the Court of Session to ask whether they will recommend that McKenzie friends should sit beside, rather than behind, the litigant. Perhaps we can ask them to respond to the petitioner’s concerns about the Court of Session’s lack of awareness of the existence of such a facility. I take Nigel Don’s point that the facility is always at the court’s discretion, and we do not want to tell the Lord President what to do, but it seems that the Lord President is more than amenable to the system. We need to disseminate the information among those who hold court.”

After further suggestions from Margo MacDonald, Murdo Fraser supported the Committee’s intentions of seeking clarity on the McKenzie Friends issue, saying : “Nigel Don made a fair point in suggesting that things seemed to be happening; I would like to think that that is the case. However, it would be better to have some clarity, so that anybody who turns up in court with a friend knows that they will not suddenly be told by the presiding judge, “No, your friend cannot sit beside you—I don’t like the look of him. He will have to sit at the back of the court.” I am inclined to agree with the course of action that Bill Butler proposes.”

The Committee closed, authorising the following Written Questions for Petition 1247 to the Scottish Government & Lord President :

Scottish Government—

Lord President of the Court of Session—

• The Scottish Government states in its submission (PE1247/S) that the “mechanism of a supportive friend is already available in the Scottish Courts, in most cases, most of the time” however, the submissions from the Civil Justice Committee of the Law Society of Scotland (PE1247/I), the Scottish Court Service (PE1247/K) and Consumer Focus Scotland (PE1247/H) still refer to the introduction of such facility rather than it already existing. Will it/the Lord President therefore encourage a more widespread use of a “McKenzie friend” when appropriate to “assist a party litigant and, with the court’s permission, to address the court”, as recommended in the Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review and how it will do so ?
• Will it/the Lord President recommend that such “McKenzie Friend”should sit beside a party litigant and not behind them? If not, why not?
• What is its/the Lord President’s answer to all the points raised by Murdo Fraser MSP and Margo MacDonald MSP during the discussion?

Lord President of the Court of Session—

• What is your answer to the concerns of the petitioner (PE1247/V) regarding the lack of awareness of the Court of Session about the existence of such a facility? How will this be addressed and when?
• Can you confirm that there is a presumption in favour of a “McKenzie friend” to assist a party litigant, unless deemed unsuitable by the Court?

So really this all boils down to getting the seating arrangements in order – just as everyone else in the world enjoys their McKenzie Friend sitting next to them, instead of the peculiarly & utterly useless Scottish solution currently in place where the McKenzie Friend sits behind their party litigant, and of course, ensuring there is a presumption of the right to have a McKenzie Friend assist a litigant, rather than the matter being left at the court’s discretion on a case by case basis.

You can find out more about the English courts guidance on using McKenzie Friends, HERE and read my earlier reports on bringing McKenzie Friends to Scotland, here : McKenzie Friends for Scotland, the story so far

The facility of having a McKenzie Friend by one’s side in court has worked well in the rest of the world for decades. Surely we in Scotland can manage the same, even with the Law Society and Faculty of Advocates still shaking the bananas from the trees in protest ?

 

Scotland to get ‘talking’ McKenzie Friends as consumer pressure on court access & rights of audience prompts new proposals for Legal Services Bill

Scottish Parliament will hear proposals to introduce ‘talking’ McKenzie Friend to Scotland. MCKENZIE FRIENDS FOR SCOTLAND will soon ‘move from silent pictures to the talkies’, and have legislative backing for their use in Scots Law, according to sources today at the Scottish Government’s Justice Department, after Communities Safety Minister Fergus Ewing gave testimony to Holyrood’s Justice Committee last Tuesday informing MSPs the issue of McKenzie Friends will be introduced to the Legal Services Bill during ‘Stage Two’ of its passage through the Scottish Parliament.

Communities Safety Minister Fergus Ewing reveals McKenzie Friend for Scotland reforms. Speaking to the Justice Committee, the Scottish Government’s Communities Safety Minister, Fergus Ewing said : “As the committee might be aware, we are considering introducing to the bill a number of areas at stage 2. In brief, those are McKenzie friends, which have been the subject of much discussion and debate in recent months; possible amendments to rights of audience in the supreme courts, subject to the recommendations of the on-going Thomson review; various technical amendments to the 1980 act; and the regulation of will writers.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government’s Justice Department issued a brief confirmation of the Communities Safety Minister’s comments, saying : “We are considering an amendment to the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill regarding McKenzie friends.”

This change of heart comes as a surprise, after my coverage of the Scottish Parliament’s debate on Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review, where Mr Ewing appeared to derail any early hopes of creating legislation to ensure that Scots could enjoy the same rights as court users in the rest of the UK to request and utilise the services of a McKenzie Friend. You can read my report on that particular debate, which features video footage of the Communities Safety Minister talking on the issue of McKenzie Friends, here : Holyrood debate reveals civil justice reforms & McKenzie Friends may be a long way off as Scottish Ministers stumble over Lord Gill review proposals

However, even better news awaits for Scots who find themselves in court but without a lawyer, as a legal insider today revealed the amendments being considered by the Scottish Government may go much further than just allowing McKenzie Friend in Scotland, as one of the options currently under discussion will actually give a McKenzie Friend the right to speak on behalf of a party litigant, which is a dramatic departure from the rules governing McKenzie Friends in England & Wales who are not allowed to address the court on behalf of the person they are assisting.

He said : “I understand one of the issues under discussion for inclusion in the Scottish Government’s McKenzie Friend proposals on the Legal Services Bill is to allow a McKenzie Friend to address the court on behalf of a party litigant in certain circumstances.”

He continued : “While I’m sure many would welcome these developments, I understand the Law Society of Scotland is firmly against such a move to grant McKenzie Friends full rights of audience so you can expect a few letters of sharp protest from the legal profession to the Parliament if this proposal reaches the Justice Committee intact.”

A spokeswoman for one of Scotland’s consumer organisations said she was delighted to hear of the idea that McKenzie Friends were to be given the right to speak on behalf of unrepresented court users.

She said : “If McKenzie Friends were to be granted full rights of audience in Scotland, it may greatly assist unrepresented court users who like many of us are easily lost in the maze of court procedures and legal technicalities. Allowing a McKenzie friend to speak on behalf of a party litigant may very well speed up cases and ensure that access to justice is delivered to many who cannot afford or cannot obtain any form of legal representation provided by solicitors.”

The change of heart by the Scottish Government on the issue of McKenzie Friends comes after considerable debate in the Scottish Parliament over Petition 1247, which has seen widespread support from all quarters and even support from other international jurisdictions, for the introduction of McKenzie Friends in Scotland, where for forty years, the legal profession, opposed to extending rights of audience and courtroom assistance to anyone outside the legal fraternity has ensured that McKenzie Friends were kept out of the reach of Scots court users for four decades.

While Scotland’s legal fraternity were generally against the implementation of McKenzie Friends in Scotland, the UK’s Ministry of Justice, several consumer organisations including Which? & Consumer Focus Scotland were very much in favour of extending McKenzie Friends, and Holyrood also received a key supporting representation from the original McKenzie Friend himself, Australian Barrister Ian Hanger QC, whose presence in McKenzie v McKenzie 1971 originated the entire concept of a McKenzie Friend, which has now reached across the globe to many international legal jurisdictions.

You can read my earlier coverage of Ian Hanger QC’s support for the introduction of McKenzie Friends in Scotland, here : McKenzie Friends for Scotland gain support from ‘original McKenzie Friend’ while Scottish Government hint at delays to civil justice reforms and reports of support from the Ministry of Justice & consumer organisations, here : McKenzie Friends for Scotland backed by Ministry of Justice & Consumer Focus as Holyrood petition moves to end 40 year Scots access to justice delay

Also, not forgetting that Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review supported the introduction of McKenzie Friends to Scotland, which I featured in an earlier article, here : Scots Law ‘shake up’ as Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review supports McKenzie Friends, Class Actions & wider access to justice for all

One of the strongest political supporters of McKenzie Friends in Scotland, has been independent MSP, Margo MacDonald, who attended all sessions where the Scottish Parliament’s Petitions Committee discussed the McKenzie Friends issue.

Margo MacDonald MSP – instrumental in bringing McKenzie Friends to Scotland.

Lord Woolman granted first use of McKenzie Friend in Scotland’s civil courts. It is widely thought that Ms MacDonald’s support has been instrumental in ensuring the McKenzie Friends debate reached the critical stage that Scotland’s courts were eventually forced to grant the first use of a McKenzie Friend in Scotland, after a ruling in the Court of Session, issued by Lord Woolman in mid November in the long running civil court damages action of Wilson, Martin v North Lanarkshire Council & C Simpson & Marwick, finally establishing a legal basis for the use of McKenzie Friends in a Scottish court, albeit Lord Woolman’s ruling only permitted the McKenzie Friend to sit behind the party litigant … an issue which most see as continuing to obstruct court users while opposing counsel have no such impositions of difficult seating arrangements.

You can read my coverage of the first use of a McKenzie Friend in Scotland, here : First use of McKenzie Friend in Scotland as Court of Session sweeps aside 40 years of lawyers monopoly over public access to justice

Lord Woolman’s initial ruling in Wilson, Martin v North Lanarkshire Council & C Simpson & Marwick,, and a second ruling in TODS MURRAY v [Defenders] (1) ARAKIN LIMITED; and (2) Mr Andrew McNamara on 1st December 2009, came after the Lord President, Lord Hamilton and Scotland’s Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill both claimed in letters to Holyrood’s Petitions Committee there was no need to introduce McKenzie Friends to Scotland as such assistance had already existed in Scottish Courts. However, both the Lord President & Justice Secretary’s claims were not supported by facts as an investigation revealed that all McKenzie Friends requests up to Lord Woolman’s November 2009 ruling had been refused by Scottish judges in civil action cases.

You can read my earlier report on Lord Hamilton’s ‘claims’ to the Scottish Parliament, here : Lord Hamilton accused of ‘being deluded’ over McKenzie Friends in Scotland as judge’s attack on Holyrood petition contradicts courtroom reality

You can read all my earlier reports on the battle to bring McKenzie Friends to Scotland here : McKenzie Friends for Scotland – A battle worthy of a McKenzie Friend

While we wait to see what proposals the Scottish Government have in store for a ‘talking’ McKenzie Friend for Scotland, and no doubt, what rules will govern their use and surely, what guidance the court must follow when a request is made for the use of a McKenzie Friend, you can read the full guidance from the Lord President of the Family Division on the use of McKenzie Friends in England & Wales, which can be downloaded here : President’s Guidance: McKenzie Friends.

What we need is a similar model of guidance, expanded, and importantly, ensuring that McKenzie Friends are dealt with as a Human Rights Article 6 issue, for use in Scotland’s courts as is the case in the rest of the UK.

 

Court of Session grants second ‘back seat’ McKenzie Friend in case against Edinburgh law firm Tods Murray as Lord President’s claims to Parliament questioned

Lord Woolman grants second use of a McKenzie Friend in Scotland. AFTER FORTY YEARS of McKenzie Friends being kept out of reach of Scotland’s courts, a policy which was quietly broken by Lord Woolman’s mid November ruling in Wilson v North Lanarkshire Council & Simpson & Marwick granting Scotland’s first use of a McKenzie Friend, the same judge, Lord Woolman has now allowed a second use of a McKenzie Friend in a legal action involving a party litigant, Mr Andrew McNamara, against the Edinburgh Law firm Tods Murray LLP, who were previously linked to the former Scottish Conservative Party leader David McLetchie MSP.

Mr McLetchie as readers will remember was forced to resign from his position as Scottish Conservative leader on 31 October 2005 , after an expenses scandal over taxi fare claims for journeys which apparently involved trips to his former law firm. Mr McLetchie resigned from Tods Murray in early 2005 before the expenses scandal made the headlines.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Courts Service today confirmed that a McKenzie Friend was allowed by Lord Woolman in the long running Court of Session action of [Pursuers] TODS MURRAY v [Defenders] (1) ARAKIN LIMITED; and (2) Mr Andrew McNamara on 1st December 2009. The McKenzie Friend however was required to sit behind the party litigant, Mr McNamara.

Reporting from the court, a legal insider who was present at last week’s hearing confirmed the following :

“The Lord Ordinary, Lord Woolman, heard the “Motion” moved by A. McNamara, which was opposed by Senior Counsel (Ferguson), that A. McNamara be allowed McKenzie friend assistance. A. McNamara sought the assistance of a McKenzie Friend on medical grounds due to having been in hospital for four days, this confirmed by a doctor’s letter.”

Lord Hamilton said to Holyrood he wants McKenzie Friends to sit behind court users in Scotland. “However, lawyers acting for Tods Murray challenged the litigant’s request for a McKenzie Friend, waving a copy of the Lord President’s letter to the Scottish Parliament, which was claimed to state the present law with regards to McKenzie Friends in Scotland that should dictate that a McKenzie Friend could only sit behind the litigant, take notes, assist with papers and quietly give advice.”

“Lord Woolman, after discussing the challenge by counsel acting for the pursuers, Tods Murray and referring to Lord Gill’s “Civil Courts Review” with specific reference to the conflicted opinions of the Court (e.g. Lord Glennie in Kenniel v Kenniel), went on to allow the use of a second McKenzie Friend in Scottish Courts in recent weeks, albeit requiring the McKenzie Friend to sit behind the party litigant.”

A solicitor, commenting on the case this morning noted the party litigant was opposed by Senior and Junior Counsel acting for Tods Murray, who also had at least two additional solicitors with them in court.

He said “I think anyone who has to sit as a party litigant in open court, faced down by two sets of opposing counsel and supporting solicitors would by any reasonable person be viewed as suffering an imbalance in their representation. I would have to question why in the circumstances reported, the McKenzie Friend was not allowed to sit beside the litigant who requested and clearly required assistance.”

Lord Hamilton‘s misinformed letter to Holyrood. The Lord President’s letter to Holyrood’s Petitions Committee, used by opposing counsel in the Tods Murray action to challenge a McKenzie Friend request, alleged that McKenzie Friend sat behind litigants, citing paragraphs from Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review. However, Lord Hamilton failed to back up his claims with written evidence or case references in his letter, which stated : “As you will be aware, this expression, which owes its origin to English procedure, can be used in two senses : in its original sense it referred to an individual assisting a party litigant by sitting he hind him or her in court and assisting that litigant by making notes, helping with case papers or quietly giving advice on the conduct of the case, as well as providing moral support in court (Civil Courts Review, Chapter 11, para 42). The only problem with Lord Hamilton’s reference to the Civil Courts Review, Chapter 11, para 42 is that no such reference to McKenzie Friends sitting behind litigants actually exists anywhere in the report.

You can read more about Lord Hamilton’s letter to the Petitions Committee over McKenzie Friends in my earlier report, here : Lord Hamilton accused of ‘being deluded’ over McKenzie Friends in Scotland as judge’s attack on Holyrood petition contradicts courtroom reality

Lord Hamilton referred to Lord Gill’s review, adding references which do not exist. A senior official from one of Scotland’s consumer organisations said this morning : “I am troubled by the report from the court that counsel for the pursuers opposed the party litigant’s request for a McKenzie Friend apparently going on to argue that if a McKenzie Friend were to be granted it must be under the terms of Lord Hamilton’s letter to the Scottish Parliament which states that McKenzie Friends must sit behind the party litigant they are there to assist”.“I feel I must point out to your readers that despite Lord Hamilton’s claims in his letter to the Parliament that Lord Gill’s Civil Justice Review referred to the practice of McKenzie Friends “sitting behind” party litigants, citing Chapter 11, Paragraph 42 of the Civil Courts Review, there is for the avoidance of any doubt, no mention anywhere in Lord Gill’s report of a McKenzie Friend sitting behind a party litigant.”

Lord Gill did not say that McKenzie Friends should sit behind litigants in Scottish Courts.“I am concerned with this latest decision, the Scottish Courts may be following a clear falsehood on the part of the Lord President, and are giving Scots back seat McKenzie Friends instead of a fully fledged McKenzie Friend of the kind who have worked successfully in England & Wales for nearly forty years. Clearly this ‘sitting behind’ arrangement, which disadvantages Scots consumers & court users cannot be sustained in the face of Lord Gill’s actual recommendations.”

A Scottish Government insider today said he was concerned that Lord Hamilton’s ill judged references to McKenzie Friends “sitting behind” party litigants might have established a false pattern for the Scottish Courts to follow, giving further grounds to campaigners, including myself, who claim that Scots party litigants are denied a fair hearing when their McKenzie Friend is forced to sit behind the litigant, while opposing counsel have no such restrictions placed on their support staff and accompanying solicitors.

He said : “Clearly the Lord President has erred in his letter to the Petitions Committee, and as such this error has given rise to a number of questionable decisions in the Scottish Courts over where a McKenzie Friend should actually sit.”

He went on : “Given this second case, where again a McKenzie Friend was required to sit behind a party litigant, there is a clear & present need for formal guidance to be issued to all courts on the consideration of McKenzie Friend requests, otherwise the feeling will remain that Scots are being denied the same access to justice that unrepresented court users in the rest of the UK are entitled to receive in terms of courtroom assistance.”

McKenzie Friends in England & Wales, are treated as a Human Rights issue, as opposed to the current practice in Scotland, where a litigant’s request for a McKenzie Friend is handled at the discretion of individual courts. Lord Hamilton and the Scots legal establishment would rather that McKenzie Friends requests continue to be handled on a case by case, discretionary basis, but such a system clearly impedes the right of an individual’s access to justice as we have recently witnessed where the court wants McKenzie Friends sitting anywhere but next to the person they are there to assist.

Readers can compare the Scots system of discretionary, back seat McKenzie Friends, which currently lacks any publicly available guidance, versus the system in operation in England & Wales, where the full guidance from the Lord President of the Family Division on the use of McKenzie Friends in the English courts can be downloaded here : President’s Guidance: McKenzie Friends

As far as I can tell from my own research, McKenzie Friends sitting behind party litigants just doesn’t happen, anywhere, so the Lord President has some explaining to do on why he chose to inform the Parliament that McKenzie Friends sit behind is the case when it is most certainly not the case in jurisdictions where McKenzie Friends are allowed. Further, since the Lord President’s letter to Parliament has been used by counsel opposing court users McKenzie Friends requests, a clear statement must now be made by the Lord President on his reasons as to why in Scotland, we must make do with back seat McKenzie Friends, rather than the front seat variety enjoyed by the rest of the world ….

The Lord President’s office has so far refused to reply to enquiries on the content of his letter to Holyrood’s Petitions Committee amid mounting claims he misinformed Parliament over the application & use of McKenzie Friends in Scotland’s courts ….

 

First use of McKenzie Friend in Scotland as Court of Session sweeps aside 40 years of lawyers monopoly over public access to justice

Lord Woolman granted Scotland’s first Civil Law McKenzie Friend request FORTY YEARS after McKenzie Friends were first introduced to UK courts as a result of the 1970 McKenzie v McKenzie decision which set a legal precedent for court users in England & Wales to request and receive the invaluable assistance of a McKenzie Friend, Scotland’s Court of Session has finally, albeit grudgingly fallen into line with the rest of the country and many international jurisdictions by granting what many say is the first successful request for a McKenzie Friend to appear in Scotland’s civil courts.

The unexpected turn of events in the Court of Session last Tuesday, 17th November 2009 saw the sitting judge, Lord Woolman allow the attendance of Scotland’s first ever McKenzie Friend in a long running civil damages action which named Motherwell College, North Lanarkshire Council & Edinburgh Law firm Simpson & Marwick as defenders. The case, a medical injury claim recently heard ‘potentially explosive allegations’ against the College from the witness box.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Courts Service confirmed the first use of a McKenzie Friend in Scotland, issuing the following brief statement : “I confirm [the party litigant] was allowed to be assisted in the manner associated with the term “McKenzie Friend”. [The litigant’s] supporter was advised by the Court as to the nature of his role and is seated behind [the litigant] in court in the place where an instructing agent (solicitor) would sit.”

The Scottish Courts Service was further asked to confirm this was the first successful use of a McKenzie Friend in a civil damages action in Scotland. However, the SCS said they did not keep such statistics or data, and therefore could not confirm one way or another.

A senior official of one of Scotland’s consumer organisations welcomed Lord Woolman’s decision to allow the use of a McKenzie Friend. He said : “The rights of party litigants in Scotland’s civil courts have been greatly enhanced by Lord Woolman’s decision allowing what we understand to be the first ever use of a McKenzie Friend in a Scottish court. We hope this will be the first of many successful applications to the Scottish courts for the use of McKenzie Friends in cases were consumers have found it difficult or too costly to obtain the services of a solicitor to represent their legal interests.”

However, Lord Woolman’s decision in requiring the McKenzie Friend to ‘sit behind’ the party litigant came in for criticism, due to the fact that in England & Wales, and most international jurisdictions were McKenzie Friends are allowed, the party litigant requesting the advice & assistance of a McKenzie Friend usually find their McKenzie Friend sits beside them, rather than behind them.

A senior barrister from England said today : “I have often attended hearings where McKenzie Friends have assisted party litigants, seated next to them. I have not attended a hearing where an English court has insisted or required that a McKenzie Friend must sit behind their party litigant. Such a seating arrangement would be counterproductive to the litigant who would be put in a position of having to constantly turn around, seeking advice on what to say or asking to see notes taken by the McKenzie Friend. I would think the judge’s patience would fray a little at such a constant head turning prospect, and therefore on that basis I would have to say your Scottish judge got it wrong on who sits where.”

A former party litigant whose experiences were recently reported in a Consumer report on Scotland’s Civil Courts today said : “I found the entire system stacked against me in court and it will come as no surprise I lost. If I had been able to use a McKenzie Friend I might have won my case, or at least come to a settlement but the judge in my case said I could not have a McKenzie Friend. The lawyers laughed at me when I was forced to drop my case and to this day I feel very bitter about it.”

He continued : “Where a Scotsman living in England or Wales, can enter an English court with a right to have a McKenzie Friend by his side to help him in his hour of need, yet a Scotsman living in Scotland asking for the help of a McKenzie Friend will still have to face the discretion of individual courts who may seat his McKenzie Friend miles away to the rear .. is not fair. This lack of fairness has to be put right.”

Lord Gill recommended McKenzie Friends be introduced in his Civil Courts Review. In the recent Civil Courts Review, conducted by Scotland’s Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Brian Gill recommended that McKenzie Friends should be introduced in Scotland, not only being allowed to sit beside a litigant but also to be granted a right of audience in some circumstances, to speak for litigants. However, Lord Gill’s detailed recommendations on the introduction & application of McKenzie Friends in Scotland’s courts conflicts severely with claims made by the Lord President to Holyrood’s Petitions Committee, where Lord Hamilton claimed that such assistance as provided by McKenzie Friends had always existed in Scotland, when in fact, no recorded use of McKenzie Friends in Scottish Civil Courts has taken place until now, this now confirmed by the Scottish Courts Service itself.

You can read my earlier articles on Lord Gill’s recommendations for the introduction of McKenzie Friends in Scotland, here : Scots Law ‘shake up’ as Lord Gill’s Civil Courts Review supports McKenzie Friends, Class Actions & wider access to justice for all

You can read my earlier reports on the battle to bring McKenzie Friends to Scotland here : McKenzie Friends for Scotland – A battle worthy of a McKenzie Friend

As legal experts in Scotland continue to assess the impact of Lord Woolman’s ruling on McKenzie Friends, and the precedent the decision has now established, the race is now on to set rules and guidance for the Scottish Courts on the general application & acceptance of McKenzie Friends to provide unrepresented party litigants with advice & assistance during court appearances.

A legal insider pointed out today that in England & Wales, as soon as a litigant makes a request to have a McKenzie Friend assist their litigation, the English courts must consider that request on a Human Rights basis, as contained in the Lord President of the Family Division’s guidance to the English Courts, which clearly states :

• When considering any request for the assistance of a McKenzie Friend, the Human Rights Act 1998 Sch 1 Part 1 Article 6 is engaged; the court should consider the matter judicially, allowing the litigant reasonable opportunity to develop the argument in favour of the request.

• The litigant in person should not be required to justify his desire to have a McKenzie Friend ; in the event of objection, it is for the objecting party to rebut the presumption in favour of allowing the MF to attend.

• A favourable decision by the court, allowing the assistance of a McKenzie Friend, should be regarded as final and not as something which another party can ask the court to revisit later, save on the ground of misconduct by the McKenzie Friend or on the ground that the MF’s continuing presence will impede the efficient administration of justice.

What a McKenzie Friend May Do :

• Provide moral support for the litigant
• Take notes
• Help with case papers
• Quietly give advice on : points of law or procedure ; issues that the litigant may wish to raise in court & questions the litigant may wish to ask witnesses.

What a McKenzie Friend May Not Do :

• A McKenzie Friend has no right to act on behalf of a litigant in person. It is the right of the litigant who wishes to do so to have the assistance of a McKenzie Friend.

• A McKenzie Friend is not entitled to address the court, nor examine any witnesses. A McKenzie Friend who does so becomes an advocate and requires the grant of a right of audience.

• A McKenzie Friend may not act as the agent of the litigant in relation to the proceedings nor manage the litigant’s case outside court, for example, by signing court documents.

The full guidance from the Lord President of the Family Division on the use of McKenzie Friends in England & Wales can be downloaded here : President’s Guidance: McKenzie Friends

One of the most important issues with regard to the use of McKenzie Friends in England & Wales, is that when a litigant makes a request for a McKenzie Friend, the request is considered with regard to Article 6 of Human Rights legislation. Currently, this is not the case in Scotland, and as yet, no guidance has been released from the Lord President’s office addressing these issues.

This Human Right of a McKenzie Friend to the unrepresented people across our country must not be separated by the hills of the Scottish Borders, simply on the basis the Scottish legal establishment, and the legal profession feel they will lose control over the courts and perhaps more importantly to them, control over access to justice and law firms profits.

Given the confused and contradictory claims by the Lord President, Lord Hamilton and the Scottish Government in its responses to the McKenzie Friend petition, and Lord Woolman’s following to the letter of Lord Hamilton’s ‘sit behind & far away’ policy, a right and entitlement to a McKenzie Friend in Scottish Law is long overdue and can no longer be allowed to remain ‘in the the gift’ of the Court. Give Scots the right of a McKenzie Friend.