Consultation response: Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill

Shelter Scotland is supportive of a national sheriff appeal court which would enable greater consistency in decision making in housing cases across Scotland.

We feel that a three month time limit for the raising of judicial review actions is insufficient. Our clients would not have time to take an informed decision about whether they wish to raise an action against a public body. This could also encourage judicial review actions, pursuers may be tempted to lodge actions to make sure they are not affected by the three month time bar.

Leave to proceed for judicial review actions should not become a barrier for clients looking to assert their rights.

Alternative dispute resolution should be encouraged by the court where appropriate. However, it is important to recognise its limitations and we feel that there will always be a place for some form of formal dispute resolution in housing cases.

In terms of housing cases we feel that many of the issues the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill seeks to resolve could be addressed by setting up a full housing tribunal, as we argue in our Scottish Government consultation response 'Better dispute resolution in housing'. We strongly support the setting up of such a tribunal which would take the vast majority of housing cases outside the sheriff court.