The sound resonating from the Scottish Parliament yesterday was
not, as might have been expected, from a falling beam in the main
chamber, but rather the sound of a long awaited penny hitting the
floor as the Scottish Executive and in particular the Justice
Minister, Cathy Jamieson recognised what Simpson and Marwick (and
to be fair, others) have been saying for years.
Ms Jamieson said: "It is arguable whether it is a good use of
resources for the highest civil court in Scotland to be dealing
with often straightforward cases of relatively low value. I accept
this is something we will need to address."
We can now argue with some hope of success that proportionality
in costs must be a recognised principle as part of improving access
to justice, that more routine work should be undertaken in the
Sheriff courts and that civil claims in general and personal injury
claims in particular deserve dedicated courts and/or specialist
judges.
The Scottish Executive will publish plans later this summer. We
will provide details when available and hope that you will join
with us in helping to secure long overdue reforms and savings. In
the meantime if you would like any additional information then
please contact Michael Wood.
Michael Wood