Access to Justice Committee
The Access to Justice Committee was established on 23 September 2013. The Chair of the Committee Lady Carmichael.
The Access to Justice Committee meets 4 to 6 times a year. Agendas, papers and minutes of Committee meetings are published here when available.
Remit of the Access to Justice Committee
The Committee’s remit is concerned with the effect on access to justice of the operation of the civil justice system including those matters that can be regulated by the Court of Session by rules under-
- the power to make provision about practice and procedure in claims;
- the power to make provision about arrangements for actions conducted by party litigants lay representatives and lay supporters;
- the power to make provision about the use of forms of alternative dispute resolution.
In relation to the above remit, the Committee has the following functions-
- to keep the relevant rules under review;
- to develop and consider proposals for modification and reform and
- to report to the Scottish Civil Justice Council with its recommendations and, where applicable, draft rules.
In the exercise of the foregoing functions, the Committee is to take due account of the guiding principles of the Scottish Civil Justice Council-
- the civil justice system should be fair, accessible and efficient,
- rules relating to practice and procedure should be as clear and easy to understand as possible,
- practice and procedure should, where appropriate, be similar in all civil courts, and
- methods of resolving disputes which do not involve the courts should, where appropriate, be promoted.
Minutes and papers from meetings can be found below.