Scottish Civil Courts Review

By | 10th November 2009
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I missed the publication of the Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review when it was launched on 30th September 2009 by the Lord Justice Clerk, the Rt Hon Lord Gill. The report is in two volumes and contains 15 chapters and a synopsis.

The terms of reference are:

To review the provision of civil justice by the courts in Scotland, including their structure, jurisdiction, procedures and working methods, having particular regard to

  • the cost of litigation to parties and to the public purse;
  • the role of mediation and other methods of dispute resolution in relation to court process;
  • the development of modern methods of communication and case management; and
  • the issue of specialisation of courts or procedures, including the relationship between the civil and criminal courts;

and to report within 2 years, making recommendations for changes with a view to improving access to civil justice in Scotland, promoting early resolution of disputes, making the best use of resources, and ensuring that cases are dealt with in ways which are proportionate to the value, importance and complexity of the issues raised.

Turning to the sections on technology I found that in Chapter 2 at paragraph 22, there is the following:

Information Technology
22. Respondents were strongly of the view that the court system is currently not taking full advantage of the opportunities that information technology offers to improve the efficiency of the conduct and management of civil business. Significant improvements to efficiency could be achieved by transmitting documents to court electronically; communicating with the court by email; creating electronic processes or case files; using telephone or videoconferencing facilities; processing certain types of claim on line; recording evidence digitally; and providing information and guidance for the public and the legal profession online.

Nothing particularly controversial there.

The report then devotes Chapter 6 to a consideration of Information Technology and makes a number of recommendations at paragraph 84.

I have only been able to skim through the report’s recommendations which are:

84. Generally, we would encourage the increased use of IT to support the work of the civil courts in Scotland. In particular we recommend that:

  •  The SCS should develop an up to date strategy for enhanced provision of IT based on research commissioned to identify the needs of all court users;
  •  The SCS website should be a source of guidance and support particularly for parties in cases covered by the proposed simplified procedures falling within the jurisdiction of the district judge. It should include information on
    o Other sources of advice and assistance;
    o Providers of mediation and other forms of ADR including links as appropriate; and
    o Self help materials;
  •  The use of email as a means of communicating with the courts and the judiciary should be encouraged;
  •  The proposed pilot of an online small claims and summary cause system should be actively pursued as soon as is practicable and consideration should be given to extending the system to other undefended actions;
  • Video and telephone conferencing should be encouraged;
  • Consideration should be given to means of encouraging court users to communicate electronically. This may involve entering into some sort of agreement with a provider to allow access to systems locally; managing the provision of such access directly, for example with local authorities; or by lower court fees; and
  • All evidence in civil cases, apart from those under the simplified procedure, should be recorded digitally. 

There appears to be no reference to the use of e-disclosure tools to assist lawyers to review and analyse copious amounts of data and documents along the lines of the everyday discussions in this blog and elsewhere.

For that we must contain our impatience and await publication of the Final Report by Lord Justice Jackson, likely to be early in 2010.