Civil justice statistics in Scotland: 2013-2014
The 2013-14 Civil Justice in Scotland release includes:
1. Main statistics tables (compromising tables that appear in this bulletin)
2. Divorce & dissolution statistics tables (further breakdowns on divorce & dissolution)
3. Supplementary statistics tables (additional statistics on civil law cases in sheriff courts and the Court of Session)
4. Background data tables (an interactive dataset on civil law court cases by court, that can be used to generate user customised tables and charts)
8. Damages
The number of damages cases initiated dropped for the fourth year in succession
Small claims made up nearly 60 per cent of damages cases in 2013-14
Three-quarters of damages cases disposed in the Court of Session had a decree of absolvitor
Damages in Scotland
Damages are a legal remedy that an individual can seek as compensation for harmful action they have experienced through the fault of another party. This can include (but is not limited to): defamation, breach of contract, damage to moveable property, negligence, breach of warranty or guarantee, breach of trust, wrongful diligence, wrongful interdict, malicious prosecution, wrongful apprehension or false imprisonment or fraudulent representation.
Courts
There were 3,195 damages cases initiated in 2013-14. This was the fourth successive year of decrease and represents a drop of a third since the peak in 2009-10 (Figure 16). Most damages cases (59 per cent) were raised as small claims. Despite the overall decrease in damages cases, there were increases in the number of commercial procedure, summary cause and Court of Session cases (Table 17).
Nearly half of small claim damages cases disposed were dismissed. The pattern of disposals for other damages cases was different, with absolvitor the most common disposal, particularly for cases in the Court of Session (Table 18).
Figure 16: Damages cases initiated in the civil courts
Table 17: Damages cases initiated and disposed of in the civil courts, by case type, 2008-09 to 2013-14
| Cases | Procedure | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | % change on 2012-13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiated | Court of Session2 | 337 | 527 | 299 | 304 | 357 | 369 | 3 |
| Sheriff: ordinary cause | 738 | 791 | 630 | 491 | 496 | 447 | -10 | |
| Sheriff: commercial | 38 | 54 | 163 | 37 | 34 | 51 | 50 | |
| Sheriff: summary cause | 434 | 561 | 453 | 488 | 382 | 441 | 15 | |
| Sheriff: small claim | 3,080 | 2,918 | 2,586 | 2,364 | 2,009 | 1,887 | -6 | |
| Total initiated | 4,627 | 4,851 | 4,131 | 3,684 | 3,278 | 3,195 | -3 | |
| Disposed | Court of Session2 | 206 | 198 | 292 | 291 | 298 | 359 | 20 |
| Sheriff: ordinary cause | 1,415 | 666 | 595 | 675 | 623 | 435 | -30 | |
| Sheriff: commercial | 29 | 26 | 18 | 30 | 8 | 16 | 100 | |
| Sheriff: summary cause | 410 | 450 | 457 | 452 | 383 | 340 | -11 | |
| Sheriff: small claim | 2,409 | 2,710 | 2,397 | 2,149 | 1,982 | 1,758 | -11 | |
| Total disposed | 4,469 | 4,050 | 3,759 | 3,597 | 3,294 | 2,908 | -12 |
1. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases.
2. Includes ordinary and commercial cases.
3. Court of Session statistics for 2013-14 corrected November 2015.
Table 18: Damages cases initiated and disposed of in the civil courts, by case type and final disposal, 2013-14
| Court type | Case type | Initiated | Disposed | Disposed | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolvitor | Dismissed | For Pursuer | Expenses Only | Other | |||||||
| Defended | Undefended | Defended | Undefended | Defended | Undefended | ||||||
| Court of Session | Ordinary | 295 | 233 | 168 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Commercial | 74 | 126 | 106 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Court of Session total | 369 | 359 | 274 | 8 | 3 | 52 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
| Sheriff courts | Small claim | 1,887 | 1,758 | 533 | 57 | 787 | 31 | 320 | 4 | 18 | 8 |
| Ordinary cause | 447 | 435 | 262 | 29 | 14 | 70 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 8 | |
| Summary cause | 441 | 340 | 134 | 13 | 105 | 16 | 61 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| Commercial | 51 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sheriff courts total | 2,826 | 2,549 | 941 | 100 | 906 | 117 | 431 | 8 | 22 | 24 | |
| Civil courts total | 3,195 | 2,908 | 1,215 | 108 | 909 | 169 | 442 | 13 | 22 | 30 | |
1. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases.
2. Statistics for Court of Session corrected November 2015.
Contact
Email: Alasdair Anthony
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