Sheriff courts to gain more powers

Sep 30 2009

A major expansion of the role of the sheriff court has been proposed as part of the biggest review of the civil justice system in modern times.

Scotland's second most senior judge, the Lord Justice Clerk Lord Gill, said there should be a "major transfer of jurisdiction" from the country's top civil court - the Court of Session - to the sheriff court.

Under the plan, cases worth up to £150,000 would have to be dealt with at sheriff court level, freeing up the Court of Session to deal solely with the biggest cases.