Lawford Kidd's Blog

The controversial Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill is to be amended after the Scottish Government agreed not to increase the exclusive competence of the sheriff court to £150,000. Instead, it will be increased to £100,000.

The new threshold of £100,000 was agreed during Holyrood’s Justice Committee's stage 2 consideration of the Bill, despite to pressure from MSPs to have the figure set at either £30,000 or £50,000.

The Government’s concession is perhaps no more than a step in the right direction, with much of Scotland’s legal community – particularly its personal injury lawyers – remaining concerned about the ability of claimants to obtain justice.

As published in the Scots Law Times earlier this year, David Sandison discusses the likely impact of the Scottish Government’s response to the recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review.