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Lothian and Borders court unification
10/09/2007
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has approved plans by the Scottish Court Service for court unification in Lothian and Borders.
Under summary justice reform proposals, district courts, currently run by local authorities, will become Justice of the Peace courts operated by the SCS. At the moment the SCS has responsibility for the administration of the Court of Session, High Court and Sheriff Courts. The creation of a unified courts administration will bring benefits such as the introduction of modern technology in JP courts and increase efficiency.
Implementation of these changes will be on an area by area basis with public consultation underway on proposals for the next phase - Grampian, Highlands and Islands.
The major change for Lothian and Borders, which will be implemented by March 2008, will involve closing the current District Court in Midlothian and moving all Midlothian and Edinburgh District Court business to Edinburgh Sheriff Court. There are no other planned changes to court locations proposed for Lothian and Borders.
Eleanor Emberson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service said:
"The current premises in Loanhead used for the District Court in Midlothian are not suitable for the business and the cost of constructing a new court facility for the level of business undertaken was unjustified. There was a general acceptance in responses received that in terms of access, Edinburgh was a suitable alternative with good public transport links.
"SCS are already working closely with the City of Edinburgh Council, Midlothian Council, Scottish Borders Council and other justice agencies to ensure the smooth transition to unified courts. We have committed to working closely with Sheriffs and JPs in making this transition and we look forward to welcoming local authority staff who will transfer to the Scottish Court Service."
On January 18, 2007 the enabling legislation in the Criminal Procedure etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament and received Royal Assent on February 22nd, 2007.
On February 28, 2007 a consultation document outlining the proposals for unification in the Lothian and Borders Sheriffdom was issued to over 200 consultees. 18 responses were received to the consultation paper, the majority from JP Committees and individual JPs.
Court Unification is one aspect of the Scottish government's programme of summary justice reform, to ensure that the justice system operates effectively in tackling the low-level crime which can blight communities. Summary justice can be defined as all non-jury criminal prosecutions, which accounts for over 90% of all those taking place in Scotland.
Other reform includes:
- Changes in the law relating to summary criminal proceedings which will allow cases in court to be dealt with more quickly and effectively
- Extending the range of direct measures (alternatives to prosecution) such as police fixed penalty notices and fiscal fines that can be offered to an alleged offender and the manner in which these measures can be enforced and disclosed - ensuring they are robust and can be used in circumstances where a court appearance may not be the most effective way of dealing with cases
- Reform of the ways in which fines and other financial penalties imposed in respect of a criminal offence can be collected and enforced - in particular the creation of the new role of fines enforcement officer with new powers to compel payment - ensuring that penalties are collected as efficiently and effectively as possible in future, minimising unnecessary court involvement
- Reform of the procedures by which justices of the peace (JPs) are appointed, trained and appraised, fulfilling the commitment to retain and invest in JPs to ensure that they provide consistently high standards of justice
- Reforms to the framework within which courts make bail and remand decisions which will toughen the sanctions available for those who breach bail and improve the transparency and consistency of bail decisions