Lord Gill, who is chairing the current review of the Scottish Civil Courts system, said he had decided to publish the consultation paper now in order to inform interested parties of the principal issues that had been raised with the review, to report on the research undertaken to date, and to set out practicable options for reform.

The consultation will focus on four related themes: access to justice, the cost and funding of litigation, the structure of the civil courts and the procedures adopted by the courts.

Lord Gill, who will give the keynote address at Holyrood magazine’s “Civil Justice: Modernising the system” conference on Monday, said: "I am pleased that so many people have taken the time to make submissions to the Review.  We have tried to reflect the main themes in the Consultation paper, to summarise our research to date, and to set out the options for reform which we think are worthy of further exploration. 

"This Consultation paper is being issued to a wide range of organisations and bodies, including organisations which speak for consumers and litigants.  We are especially interested in hearing from members of the public about their experiences of the civil court system.  In this way we can ensure that their voice is heard and that their interests are central to any recommendations for reform that we make. 

"We are inviting responses to this consultation by March 31, 2008.  After that, we may conduct more specific consultations on individual topics before proceeding to our conclusions."
 
A copy of the consultation paper is available at: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/civilcourtsreview/index.asp

For more information on Holyrood magazine’s “Civil Justice: Modernising the system” conference visit: http://conferences.holyrood.com/content/view/211/