Civil justice statistics in Scotland: 2012-2013

2. Introduction to civil law statistics in Scotland

Civil law is concerned with the rights and obligations of people and organisations. One way of resolving civil law disputes between people and organisations is for a case to be brought to court. In Scotland civil law cases are usually conducted in a sheriff court or the Court of Session. Common types of cases where civil law is used include debt, divorce and claims for personal injury.

The supporting information described here is designed to help people understand and use the civil law statistics tables available on the Scottish Government website. As well as information on the quality of the statistics, this document also contains an overview of the civil court structure, a description of recent changes in legislation, a historical overview of the volume of civil law cases and a list of definitions.

The format of the 2012-13 Civil Law Statistics in Scotland release is different from the statistics bulletins that were produced in previous years. The 2012-13 release consists of a series of statistics tables a description of the main points arising from the statistics and the supporting information provided here. An analysis bulletin describing civil law court statistics and other relevant data, such as that from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, is planned for the future.