How Denise was able to go to the Court of Session
IN September 2014, Denise Clair won legal aid to take the civil action after the Crown decided not to raise a prosecution.
Unable to pursue a criminal case, she turned to the civil process, which allows disputes between individuals to be heard.
Examples of civil cases the courts can deal with are separation, divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership; tenant/landlord problems, including evictions; and claims for money.
They are usually dealt with at sheriff courts, but complex cases where large amounts of money are being claimed are heard at the highest civil court in Scotland, the Court of Session.
The case is normally heard and the final decision made by a judge sitting alone, although sometimes in the Court of Session, a jury is involved and makes the decision.
This was the first civil rape case of its kind north of the Border.
A Crown Office spokesman said yesterday: ‘As Lord Armstrong stated in his judgment, the standard of proof to be satisfied was that of the balance of probabilities, which is a less onerous requirement than the standard in criminal cases, which is “beyond reasonable doubt”.
‘Further, there is no requirement of corroboration in civil cases, unlike in criminal cases.
‘This case was looked at very carefully by Crown Counsel, who concluded that there was insufficient evidence in law to raise criminal proceedings. As a result, no proceedings were instructed.’