Civil justice statistics in Scotland: 2012-2013

10. Definitions

Given the complex nature of civil law, all descriptions and definitions given here are necessarily general in nature. They are intended to provide sufficient information to allow readers to understand civil law statistics but they are not official definitions.

The following terms are used to describe civil law case types.

Aliment

Support or maintenance of a spouse / civil partner or child.

Child abduction

Child abducted outside the UK and brought into Scotland.

Child in place of safety

Warrant to continue keeping a child in a place of safety. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s67.

Children's hearings - appeal

Appeal against the decision of a children's hearing. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s51(1).

Children's hearings - referral

Refer to the sheriff for a decision when the grounds for a children's hearing are denied or not understood by the child or relevant person. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s65(7).

Civil non-harassment order

Restrain the conduct of a person. Protection from Harassment Act 1997 s8 and Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2011 s8A.

Commercial

Actions arising out of, or concerned with, any transaction or dispute of a commercial or business nature which are carried out under specific commercial procedure.

Company

Actions relating to companies and how they operate, including liquidations.

Damages

Payment of money to compensate for non-personal loss or injury.

Debt

Payment of money, excluding damages and personal injury.

Decree Dative

Appointment of a person to administer the estate of a deceased person.

Delivery

Delivery of moveable goods or property. An alternative crave for payment is sometimes included in the event the goods or property are not returned.

Exclusion order - child's home

Local authority application to exclude a person from a child's home. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s76.

Exclusion order - matrimonial

Suspend the right of a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant to occupy the matrimonial home. Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 s4.

Implement

Fulfil an obligation or duty.

Intellectual property

Infringement of copyright, patents, trademarks, etc.

Interdict

Prevent a particular action being carried out, excluding Family Interdicts.

Judicial review

A remedy whereby the Court of Session may review and if necessary alter the decision of inferior courts, tribunals and other public offices and authorities where no other form of appeal is available.

Land / heritable

All actions relating to land or immoveable property.

Liquidation

Wind up and dissolve a corporate body.

Nobile officium

An ancient 'noble office' or power of the Court of Session (and the High Court of Justiciary) which allows the Court to provide a legal remedy where none exists.

Nullity of marriage / civil partnership

Void a marriage / civil partnership.

Parental responsibilities and rights

All actions relating to parental responsibilities and rights under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s11.

Parental responsibilities and rights - contact

Regulate the arrangements for maintaining personal relations between a child under 16 and a person with whom the child is not living. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s11(2)(d).

Parental responsibilities and rights - residence

Regulate the arrangements as to with whom a child under 16 is to live. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s11(2)(c).

Parental responsibilities and rights - other

Other actions relating to parental responsibilities and rights under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 s11, excluding contact and residence.

Permanence order with authority to adopt

Vest parental rights for a child in an adoption agency, permitting the placement of the child for adoption in advance of the adoption order. Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 s80.

Permanence orders with authority to adopt replaced adoption freeing orders from September 2009. Any adoption freeing orders initiated before this date but disposed during 2010-11 are included in the statistics for permanence orders with authority to adopt.

Personal injury - asbestos - live mesothelioma

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells that make up the lining around the outside of the lungs and inside of the ribs, or around the abdominal organs. A mesothelioma sufferer (or someone with a Power of Attorney for a mesothelioma sufferer) is the pursuer.

Personal injury - asbestos - post mesothelioma

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells that make up the lining around the outside of the lungs and inside of the ribs, or around the abdominal organs. A mesothelioma sufferer's relative or executor is the pursuer and the sufferer has died and did not initiate court action themselves.

Personal injury - asbestos - pleural plaques

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury relating to asbestos-related pleural plaques - scarring of the membranes around the lungs.

Personal injury - asbestos - pleural thickening

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury relating to asbestos-related pleural thickening. Pleural thickening can cause breathlessness, asbestosis of the lungs, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Personal Injury - asbestos - other

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury relating to other asbestos-related illnesses.

Personal injury - clinical negligence

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury relating to clinical negligence.

Personal injury - relative's claim

Payment of money to compensate for personal loss or injury to a relative of someone who has died.

Personal injury - other

Payment of money to compensate for other personal loss or injury.

Repossession - mortgage / loan

Repossess a property in breach / default of a mortgage or loan secured on the property. These cases can be initiated under ordinary cause or summary application procedure. Following the introduction of the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act 2010 on 30 September 2010, all repossession cases relating to mortgages or loans secured on residential property are to be raised as summary applications. Previously, nearly all court actions of this type were made under ordinary cause procedure.

Repossession - non-mortgage / loan

Repossess a building or land which is being occupied by someone other than the owner, excluding mortgage / loan repossessions. The pursuer is the owner and it is often, but not always, used to remove tenants who have not paid their rent.

Succession

Determine the rights of inheritance to a deceased person's estate.

Summary warrant

Authorise the steps to be taken to ensure the recovery of money owed by one or more debtors to certain public creditors.

Suspension

Suspend a charge.

Trusts

Actions relating to the creation and administration of trusts.

The following terms describe the disposal types for the main case types.

Absolvitor

An order which prevents the pursuer from bringing the same matter to court again. The majority of those orders will have been issued as a direct consequence of the parties coming to an out-of-court settlement

Defended / undefended

A case is defended if the defender lodges a notice of intention to defend or appear, or lodges answers. If the defender does not subsequently defend the case the final disposal is still marked as defended. Decree can be awarded in favour of the defender even if the case is not defended. For example, the parties could settle out of court and ask for the case to be dismissed before the defender lodges a notice of intention to defend. This would be recorded in the statistics as 'Dismissed, Undefended'.

Dismissed (excluding appeals / reclaiming motions)

Decree is granted in favour of the defender. The pursuer can raise further court action in relation to the same matter.

Dropped from roll

The application is dropped from the roll. The pursuer can lodge a motion to recall the case. This usually occurs when the pursuer fails to return the application to court for the initial hearing date and no party attends.

Expenses only (Court of Session)

The merits of the case are decided but the court reserves the question of expenses, which is dealt with at a later date. When expenses have been dealt with the case is finally disposed of and the final disposal is recorded as Expenses Only.

Expenses only (sheriff courts)

Expenses are awarded to the pursuer, with the rest of the matter dropped.

For petitioner / pursuer / respondent

Decree is granted in favour of the petitioner / pursuer / respondent.

Granted

Decree is granted in favour of the pursuer.

Opposed / unopposed (petition department)

A petition is opposed if the respondent lodges answers. It cannot be determined from the statistics whether unopposed petitions were awarded in favour of the petitioner, respondent, etc.

Refused (excluding appeals / reclaiming motions)

The case is refused. This could be for a number of reasons, for example on the basis that the case is incompetent, it has no merit, it is not insisted upon, etc.

Withdrawn

The case is withdrawn by the pursuer. This could be for a number of reasons, for example the case is incompetent, it has no merit, the pursuer does not wish to take the matter any further, etc.

The following terms describe the disposal types for Appeals / Reclaiming Motions

Abandoned

The appeal is abandoned and the original judgment stands.

Adhered

The original judgment is adhered to.

Allowed

The appeal is allowed and the original judgment is altered or reversed.

Dismissed

The appeal is not allowed and the original judgment is adhered to.

Recalled

The original judgment is recalled.

Refused

The appeal is refused and the original judgment is adhered to.

Varied

The original judgment is varied.

The following terms are used to describe civil law statistics.

Ancillary crave

Any second and subsequent legal remedies requested by the pursuer / petitioner, as stated in the initial writ / summons.

Decree

The order of the judge or sheriff disposing of a case.

Defender / respondent

The person or body against whom a case is raised.

Disposed

Completion of a case following the issuing of a final judgment.

Initial writ / summons

A form of document used to commence some court cases.

Initiated

Registering a case with the court.

Principal crave

The first legal remedy requested by the pursuer / petitioner, as stated in the initial writ / summons, etc.

Pursuer / petitioner

The person or body who is raising the court case.

Reclaiming motion

Appeals from the Outer House of the Court of Session, which are raised in the Inner House.

Sisted

Cases that have been suspended.