Scottish Civil Proceedings
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Scots civil procedure governs the rules of
civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or ca ...
in Scotland. It deals with the jurisdiction of the country's
civil courts A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a Civil law (common law), civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws s ...
, namely the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
and
sheriff court A sheriff court () is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to , and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and ra ...
s. Civil procedure is regulated by
Acts of Sederunt An Act of Sederunt ( ; meaning a meeting or sitting of a court) is secondary legislation made by the Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland, to regulate the proceedings of Scottish courts and tribunals hearing civil matters. Ori ...
which are
ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * Em ...
s passed by the Court of Session. Rules for the functioning of the Court of Session were decided upon by the Court of Session Rules Council, which was instituted by the
Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1933 The Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1933 ( 23 & 24 Geo. 5. c. 41) is an act of the Parliament at Westminster legislating for Scotland which introduced changes in Scottish legal procedure "following the recommendations of a Royal Com ...
and reconfirmed by the
Court of Session Act 1988 The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with other royal, state and churc ...
and those for the Sheriff Court were agreed on by the
Sheriff Court Rules Council A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...
, which is the body responsible for reviewing the Sheriff Court civil procedure under review.
Primary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democ ...
may also be enacted to regulate civil procedure, such as the
Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...
which removed requirements for
corroborating evidence Corroborating evidence, also referred to as corroboration, is a type of evidence in lawful command. Types and uses Corroborating evidence tends to support a proposition that is already supported by some initial evidence, therefore confirming the ...
. However, rules for both the Court of Session and sheriff courts are now decided upon by the
Scottish Civil Justice Council Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
. Since the enactment of the
Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the ...
, civil procedure has increasingly been shaped by case law from the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
.


Proposed reform of civil procedure

In 2009 Lord Gill, the Lord Justice Clerk, delivered his ''Scottish Civil Courts Review'' which was heralded as the "most far-reaching reform of Scotland's civil justice system in nearly two centuries".David Leask, "Blueprint for cheaper, faster, fairer justice for all", '' he Scotsman', 1 October 2009, p 4 via factiva.com accessed 23 October 2011. Among his 206 proposals were: * a major shift of work from the Court of Session to sheriff courts, * removal of the jurisdictional overlap between those courts, * specialisation of sheriffs in areas such as family law, commerce, personal injury, * new district judges to deal with less legally complicated and low-value civil actions such as small claims and housing disputes. In November 2010 the Scottish Government released its response to the ''Review'' accepting "the majority of Lord Gill's recommendations" including expressly the following proposals:The Scottish Government, "Proposals for Civil Justice Reform" (Media Release), Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 November 2010, via factiva.com accessed 23 October 2011. * "Civil court business should be reallocated to more appropriate levels, with a far greater proportion of civil court business to be heard by the sheriff courts * "A specialised personal injury court should be established as part of
Edinburgh Sheriff Court Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders. History Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Justiciary Building, Edinburgh, Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnma ...
* "The creation of a new Sheriff Appeal Court * "The introduction of a new role of District Judge * "Adoption of an improved and more active approach to case management * "The introduction of designated specialist judges" In October 2011, the Scottish Government announced consultation on appointments to a new Scottish Civil Justice Council to draft rules of procedure for civil proceedings in the Court of Session and sheriff court. The establishment of the council was one of Lord Gill's 2009 recommendations.Julie Hamilton, "Scottish Government Consulting On Appointment Of A Scottish Civil Justice Council", Mondaq Business Briefing, 14 October 2011 via factiva.com accessed 23 October 2010.


See also

*
Judiciary of Scotland The judiciary of Scotland () are the judicial office holders who sit in the courts of Scotland and make decisions in both civil and criminal cases. Judges make sure that cases and verdicts are within the parameters set by Scots law, and t ...
*
Trial by jury in Scotland Trial by jury in Scotland is used in the courts of Scotland in solemn procedure for trial on indictment before a judge and jury for serious criminal cases, and in certain civil cases (mainly personal injury claims). Criminal procedure in Scot ...
*
Lands Valuation Appeal Court The Lands Valuation Appeal Court is a Scottish civil court, composed of 3 Court of Session judges. It hears cases where the decision of a local Valuation Appeal Committee is disputed. References See also * Judiciary of Scotland * Scots civil ...


References

*AD Murray, 'Court of Session procedure: past, present and future' (1997) 31 Scots Law Times 259-263 *G Maher and B Rodger, ''Civil Jurisdiction in the Scottish Courts'' (Greens Practice Library 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Scots Civil Procedure Codes of civil procedure
Civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or ca ...
Civil procedure