Better Access to Justice

The Scottish Government has recently published details of its plans to introduce legislation that it says will create a more accessible, affordable and equitable civil justice system for Scotland.

The proposals, which the Government is now consulting on, contain primary legislation on the expenses and funding of civil litigation. In particular, the Government is seeking views on its plans to:

• Introduce a capping mechanism for speculative fee agreements;
• Allow damages based agreements to be offered to clients by solicitors in Scotland and to be capped to the same extent as speculative fee agreements;
• Introduce a system of qualified one-way costs shifting in personal injury cases;
• Introduce technical powers to enable the Scottish Civil Justice Council to implement some aspects of the Sheriff Principal Taylor’s review;
• To make provision for legal aid in relation to “funder of last resort” (which will ensure that legal aid is targeted at those who need it most) and the availability of legal aid for legal persons in certain circumstances.

It also seeks views on:

• Some outstanding recommendations from Lord Gill’s Scottish Civil Courts Review, including multi-party actions and provisions relating to the Auditor of Court and Sheriff Court auditors; and
• Providing the Court of Session with the ability to develop a table of fees for counsel and solicitor advocates.

“The role which expenses play in the context of civil litigation cannot be underestimated,” commented Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs Paul Wheelhouse. “As Sheriff Principal Taylor set out in his review, the current unpredictability of the costs of civil litigation impacts on access to justice.”

“The Scottish Government agrees that the current situation where the unpredictability of costs represents a barrier to justice is not acceptable,” he added. “I am convinced that the proposals in our consultation will go a long way to making the Scottish civil litigation system much more accessible to the people of Scotland.”

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