The Penny Drops

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