Commercial premises could house temporary courts to clear backlog

Temporary courts could be set up in commercial premises as part of a series of “very radical” solutions to address the growing backlog of cases in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown, Scotland’s justice secretary has said.

Humza Yousaf said a series of “innovative” and “out-thebox” approaches were being considered to hear those cases awaiting trial, the number which is close to 2,300 and is increasing by the day. Among 717 cases awaiting High Court trials, 49 are homicides, 465 are serious sexual offence cases and 182 are major crimes.

Victim support organisations are among those to express concern about the impact of the backlog on those who have suffered crime. There are fears as many as 3,000 cases could be awaiting trial by next spring, as social distancing restrictions continue to limit the work of the justice system.

As part of restart plans being steered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, a very small number of High Court jury trials will resume in Edinburgh and Glasgow next month, with the focus on those cases which involve a small number of witnesses. But Mr Yousaf told MSPS yesterday that bold new measures were being considered.

Asked what plans there were to increase court capacity, Mr Yousaf said the existing system, with physical distancing in place, would “only take us so far”. He said: “We need to go further. There is simply no doubt about that if we want to make inroads into that backlog, so I can confirm that very radical and innovative solutions are being explored. For example, looking at commercial premises – can we set up temporary courts to deal with the backlog? [These are] really out the box, radical, innovative ways of thinking that are being explored.”