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Foreword by the minister for justice
Justice is at the heart of a peaceful, prosperous society. For most of us, most of the time, the legal framework that surrounds us and supports our daily lives is something that we take for granted. But the law and the legal system provide the framework of rights, responsibilities and rules that help individuals, families, communities and businesses live and work together in harmony.
The civil law underpins virtually every aspect of our daily lives - in our personal relationships within families, as neighbours and members of communities, in our work whether as employees or running a business, and at home or in our leisure time as shoppers and consumers.
We need modern laws for a modern Scotland. Our laws must be suitable for the way we live now. They must be clear, fair and understandable. They must provide accessible ways to sort out problems, protect rights and resolve disputes if things go wrong.
Since devolution, we have reviewed and updated many aspects of our civil law and civil justice system. This includes a major modernisation programme in property law, new legal arrangements for the enforcement of legal obligations and to help debtors, new laws benefiting adults with incapacity and significant changes in family law. The Executive will continue to bring forward reforms in the civil law where required. But we now believe the time is right to concentrate on reviewing and modernising the delivery of civil justice in Scotland.
We have agreed with Scotland's senior judiciary that a major review of the civil courts is needed, to ensure that their structure, procedures and working methods promote access to justice and early, proportionate resolution of disputes, as well as making the best use of resources. I am delighted that the Lord Justice Clerk, the Rt Hon Lord Gill, has agreed to lead that review. Alongside the work of his team, we recognise that there is work to be done to improve access to legal information, advice, and representation where necessary, and to raise awareness of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution.
This document sets out our vision for civil law and civil justice in 21st century Scotland. It describes the principles by which we believe civil justice should operate, mindful of the need to provide value for money and deliver services as efficiently as possible. It also identifies areas where we believe change and improvement are needed.
We believe that out-dated ideas and vested interests should be challenged and new ideas and innovations which will better serve the public encouraged. Everyone who has an interest in the delivery of civil justice services needs to work in partnership to find the right solutions to the problems we have identified. There is a particular need to work with members of the public, to listen to their concerns and hear their views about what changes are needed. We are confident that by working together we will improve our civil justice system for the benefit of all.
Cathy Jamieson, MSP
Minister for Justice
Civil law is the law that regulates the rights and responsibilities of individuals or legal persons between one another and which governs the rights and responsibilities of government and the state. It includes private law areas such as family law, contract, reparation, inheritance and property law, and public or administrative law areas like education, health, planning, immigration, social security, and tax. The Scottish Parliament can legislate in most areas of Scottish private law, but much public law is reserved to the Westminster Parliament. The Scottish courts deal with cases in all areas of both Scottish and UK law.
Civil justice means the services and mechanisms that:
- provide information and advice about civil law;
- help to resolve problems and disputes about civil law matters; and
- enforce and protect civil law rights and responsibilities when necessary.
Services cover a broad spectrum, from general advice providers such as Citizens Advice Bureaux, through specialist advisers on particular issues such as welfare benefits or immigration, to a variety of professions and disciplines including lawyers, arbiters, and mediators.
Mechanisms for resolving disputes range from negotiation-based processes such as mediation and conciliation, through more formal processes involving third-party decision-makers, such as arbitration or adjudication, to formal judicial processes in the civil courts and tribunals.
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