Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill

Background

The Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 6 February 2014.

• Read the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill and accompanying documents

The Bill seeks to implement recommendations contained in the Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review (2009), which was led by Lord Gill. The Review concluded that the Scottish civil courts provide a service to the public which is “slow, inefficient and expensive” and recommended that “the court system has to be reformed both structurally and functionally”. The main provisions in the Bill include: an increase in the privative jurisdiction of the sheriff court; creation of ‘summary sheriffs’; establishment of a specialist Scotland-wide court; judicial specialisation; creation of a new Sheriff Appeal Court; changes in the way petitions for judicial review should be brought; new procedures relating to criminal and civil appeals; and merger of the Scottish Courts Service and Scottish Tribunals Service.

Evidence

Written evidence

The Committee issued a call for evidence on Tuesday 18 February 2014. 

• Read the call for evidence
• Read the news release on the call for evidence
• Read the written submissions received

Oral evidence 

The Committee took oral evidence at its meetings on 18 and 25 March and 1, 22 and 29 April 2014. 

• Read the Official Report of the Meeting on 18 March 2014 (460KB pdf)
• Read the Official Report of the Meeting on 25 March 2014 (553KB pdf)
• Read the Official Report of the Meeting on 1 April 2014 (423KB pdf)
• Read the Official Report of the Meeting on 22 April 2014 (469KB pdf)
• Read the Officicial Report of the Meeting on 29 April 2014 (358KB pdf) 

Report

The Committee published its Stage 1 Report to the Parliament on 9 May 2014.

• Read the Justice Committee 5th Report, 2014 (Session 4): Stage 1 Report on the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP Paper 521)
• Read the news release about the report
• Read the response from the Scottish Government to the Committee's Stage 1 Report (259KB pdf) 

Debate

Consideration of the Bill at Stage 1 concluded with the debate in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament on 21 May 2014.

• Read the Official Report of the Stage 1 debate on the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill (432KB pdf)

The Parliament has agreed that the Stage 3 debate in the Chamber will take place on 7 October 2014. The deadline for members to lodge amendments is 4.30pm on 1 October 2014. Further information on the Bill is available on the Bill homepage.

Additional Information

SPICe prepared a table comparing the Gill Review recommendations with the provisions contained in the Bill.

• Read the SPICe table of recommendations (930KB pdf)

Correspondence

• Read the letter from the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs to the Convener (30 April 2014) (136KB pdf)

Committee visit to courts

On Tuesday 20 May the Committee visited the Court of Session, the High Court and the Judicial Institute for Scotland.