Overview

The aim of the review was to suggest recommendations that will produce prompt and efficient decision-making in the courts and procedures appropriate to the nature of the dispute. Its priorities were to ensure access to justice for the individual litigant, avoiding litigation wherever possible and encouraging the settlement of litigations once started.

The core recommendations involve a major shift in workload from the supreme court in Scotland – the Court of Session – to the Sheriff Court, Scotland’s equivalent of the County Court. All claims below £150,000 would have to be heard by a sheriff and new district judges would deal with low-value civil and criminal cases. The current level is £5,000. There would be specialist sheriffs, a new national personal injury Sheriff Court, judicial or case flow management of claims, a new Sheriff Appeal Court, restrictions on rights of appeal, and the introduction of modern methods of communication.

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