Despite the significant impact the covid-19 pandemic had on the delivery of its business, eight sets of draft rules prepared by the Scottish Civil Justice Council were given legal effect during its 2021/22 reporting period.

These rules are set out in the SCJC’s ninth annual report, published today, which also details the Council’s accounts and its achievements over the year.

Writing his foreword as Council Chair, the Lord President, the Rt. Hon. Lord Carloway, charted the Council’s continued work on civil court reform and noted the wide range of subject matters in which it has developed new rules.

Lord Carloway said: “During this reporting period the Council continued to manage the majority of its business virtually and met seven times over the course of the year. Members have adapted well to the changes in working practice, embracing the use of technology to enable progression of the Council’s priorities.

There were eight sets of draft rules prepared by the Council and given legal effect by the Court of Session during this reporting period. These included changes to support the mandatory online submission of Simple Procedure cases; new rules arising from the introduction of the Office of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner; and updated rules following completion of our significant review of the Sheriff Appeal Court Rules 2015.

The work programme for our Committees was restarted with substantial progress made on our priorities including: the review of the Simple Procedure Rules 2016; the compulsory pre-action protocols for disease and clinical negligence; the new rules for case management in sheriff court family actions, and the review of the rules for the Inner House of the Court of Session.”

The eight sets of draft rules given legal effect during 2021/22 were:

• new rules introducing the further exceptions to be applied with Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting in personal injury actions
• a review of the fee tables for sheriff officers and messengers at arms
• new rules to support the insolvency moratoriums introduced as part of the pandemic response
• temporary and then permanent rule changes to support the mandatory online submission of Simple Procedure cases
• amended rules arising from changes to the age of criminal responsibility
• new rules arising from the introduction of the Office of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner
• updated rules following completion of a significant review of the Sheriff Appeal Court Rules 2015
• permanent amendments to the Simple Procedure Civil Court rules requiring all simple procedure claims to be submitted using Civil Online or the internet interface to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s case management system.

The Council’s Annual Report has been published together with the Annual Programme of Work for 2022/2023, which details how it will deliver its priorities for the next reporting year.

For more detailed information and to view the full report, visit the SCJC website.