Civil cases in Scottish courts continue decline with debt still leading disputes

NEW statistics have revealed that the number of debt cases going through civil courts in Scotland have reached a 10-year low.

The data for 2018-2019, released by the Scottish Government, shows that the number of civil cases brought in Scotland have dropped by 11 per cent in the past year – continuing a long-term decline.

The number of debt cases decreased to 29,753, the lowest number in 10 years, but debt is still the most common reason for a case to come before a court.

Debt cases decreased by 20 per cent reversing the rise recorded last year, from 37,364 to 29,753.

People initiating civil proceedings in 2018-2019 cited problems with neighbours as the most common reason for taking action through the civil courts – 15 per cent of cases.

The study also revealed that proceedings in civil courts for evictions has decreased by 15 per cent from 2017-2018 and last year numbered 12,407 cases.

A total of 7,379 divorces were granted in Scotland in 2018-2019 – a seven per cent increase from the previous year, when 6,869 divorces were granted. In 2018-2019, more than 60 per cent of divorces were granted under the simplified procedure.

A total of 35 divorces were granted to same sex couples last year.

Personal injury claims being brought to court have decreased by three per cent from the previous year – while nearly three in five personal injury cases brought forward last year related to road traffic collisions.

Family and eviction proceedings were the next most common at 18 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Business at Scotland’s highest civil court has also vastly reduced over the past decade, with a drop of 63 per cent in cases being initiated at the Court of Session since 2009-10.

A change to the law ,which was introduced in 2015, meant that sheriff courts were now able to rule on cases with a value of up to £100,000, as opposed to the previous limit of £5,000. In the past, the Court of Session was required to rule on anything with an exclusive competence of more than £5,000.

Since the law was changed, business at the court has dropped by 48 per cent.

In just one year, the total number of civil cases dropped by 11 per cent from more than 81,000 – continuing a decline resulting in a 39 per cent decrease in the number of civil cases taken to court since 2009-10. The figures show 117,839 cases initiated at Scottish courts a decade ago.

A spokesman for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, said: “The longer term trend reflects legislative changes at the start of the decade. In relation to the short term, this is attributable to figures settling back after a rise in 2017-18 from the introduction of simple procedure for civil cases below the value of £5,000.

“The 2018-19 figures are broadly comparable to the 2016-17 figures.”