Publication - Statistics
Civil justice statistics in Scotland: 2018-2019
The 2018-2019 civil justice statistics in Scotland release includes main statistics tables, figures and supplementary statistics tables.
Table 12: Debt cases initiated and disposed of1 in the civil courts, by case type, 2009-10 to 2018-19
| Cases | Procedure | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | % change since 2017-18 | % change since 2009-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiated | Court of Session2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 70 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 9 | -36 | 800 |
| Sheriff: ordinary cause | 12,054 | 9,200 | 6,944 | 5,487 | 4,586 | 4,407 | 5,342 | 4,483 | 5,012 | 4,218 | -16 | -65 | |
| Sheriff: commercial | 318 | 223 | 266 | 222 | 241 | 378 | 335 | 259 | 249 | 305 | 22 | -4 | |
| Sheriff: summary cause3 | 5,307 | 4,415 | 3,922 | 3,381 | 3,114 | 3,258 | 3,896 | 2,336 | 5 | 6 | 20 | -100 | |
| Sheriff: small claim3, 4 | 38,251 | 31,533 | 29,110 | 26,803 | 27,444 | 25,642 | 25,338 | 17,522 | 7 | 5 | -29 | -100 | |
| Sheriff: simple procedure3 | z | z | z | z | z | z | z | 5,961 | 32,077 | 25,210 | -21 | z | |
| Total initiated | 55,931 | 45,375 | 40,250 | 35,899 | 35,390 | 33,755 | 34,919 | 30,567 | 37,364 | 29,753 | -20 | -47 | |
| Disposed | Court of Session2 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 0 | -50 |
| Sheriff: ordinary cause | 10,150 | 7,729 | 5,885 | 4,534 | 3,566 | 3,520 | 3,902 | 3,560 | 3,356 | 3,344 | 0 | -67 | |
| Sheriff: commercial | 231 | 166 | 175 | 117 | 143 | 303 | 222 | 183 | 162 | 208 | 28 | -10 | |
| Sheriff: summary cause3 | 5,772 | 4,337 | 3,884 | 3,324 | 2,906 | 3,199 | 3,490 | 3,024 | 284 | 35 | -88 | -99 | |
| Sheriff: small claim3, 4 | 40,347 | 31,026 | 28,934 | 26,023 | 25,876 | 26,319 | 24,953 | 22,149 | 1,214 | 106 | -91 | -100 | |
| Sheriff: simple procedure3 | z | z | z | z | z | z | z | 962 | 27,549 | 26,569 | -4 | z | |
| Total disposed | 56,516 | 43,260 | 38,880 | 34,000 | 32,497 | 33,345 | 32,575 | 29,891 | 32,573 | 30,270 | -7 | -46 |
1. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases.
2. First instance business only – excludes appeals and reclaiming motions.
3. The first phase of simple procedure replaced the small claims and the more straightforward cases under summary cause procedure from 28 November 2016.
More complex summary cause cases will move during phase two of simple procedure in due course.
4. There are still a small number of small claims cases being registered mainly under the EU small claims procedure.
Contact
Email: justice_analysts@gov.scot
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