Sheriff Personal Injury Court
| Sheriff Personal Injury Court | |
|---|---|
.svg)
Royal Court of Arms of the United Kingdom as used by the Courts in Scotland
|
|
| Established | 22 September 2015 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Location | Sheriff Court House, 27 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1LB |
| Coordinates | 55°56′53″N 3°11′27″W / 55.9479192°N 3.1907488°WCoordinates: 55°56′53″N 3°11′27″W / 55.9479192°N 3.1907488°W |
| Composition method | Appointed by Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders |
| Authorized by | Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and The All-Scotland Sheriff Court (Sheriff Personal Injury Court) Order 2015 |
| Decisions are appealed to | Sheriff Appeal Court |
| Website | www |
| Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders | |
| Currently | Mhairi M. Stephen QC |
| Since | 9 May 2011 |
The Sheriff Personal Injury Court is a Scottish court with exclusive competence over claims relating to personal injury where the case is for a work-related accident claim in excess of £1,000, where the total amount claimed is in excess of £5,000, or where a sheriff in a local sheriff court remits proceedings to the Personal Injury Court. It has concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Session for all claims in excess of £100,000, and concurrent jurisdiction with the local sheriff courts for personal injury claims within its competence.
The choice of using a local sheriff court or the Personal Injury Court is left to the pursuer. However, if the sheriff believes the case is a complex one, requiring specialist expertise, then it can be remitted to the Personal Injury Court.
The Sheriff Personal Injury Court was established on 22 September 2015 by The All-Scotland Sheriff Court (Sheriff Personal Injury Court) Order 2015. The power to establish specialist, all-Scotland courts is derived from the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
The Sheriff Personal Injury Court's foundation was one of the results of Lord Gill's Scottish Civil Courts Review (published in 2009), which identified several ways in which civil justice could be expedited through improving access to justice, reducing costs for parties litigant, and reducing the time to conclusion of cases. Lord Gill was critical of the civil justice system in place at the time, describing it as "a Victorian model that had survived by means of periodic piecemeal reforms", and concluding that, "It is failing the litigant and it is failing society."
Lord Gill's report identified that many litigants and legal practitioners had been happy with the improvements to personal injury claims in the Court of Session by the introduction of new rules, but concluded that creating an all-Scotland specialist sheriff court for personal injury claims was the best option. This would relieve pressure on the Court of Session, and reduce cost to litigants as they would not need to engage an advocate or solicitor advocate as solicitors have the right of audience before the sheriff courts. At the same time, he allowed for the pursuer to a have a choice between the local sheriff court or the new specialist court in Edinburgh.
...
Wikipedia