The future of the Land Court and the Lands Tribunal: consultation

Questions

1 Please indicate your views on the proposal to amalgamate the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.

in favour / not in favour

Please give your reasons.

2 If there is a decision to merge the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, do you consider that the merged body should be a court or a tribunal?

court / tribunal

Please give your reasoning

3 If there is a decision to merge the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, do you consider that the merged body should take on more functions than those separately undertaken by the two bodies at present?

yes / no

If ‘yes’, please list the extra function(s) to be undertaken and your reasoning.

If ‘no’, please provide your reasoning for this view.

4 a. Please indicate your views on the proposal that the other legal member of the Lands Tribunal could be entitled to be appointed to hear a case from which the Chair and the Deputy Chair of the Land Court have had to recuse themselves.

agree / disagree

b. Please indicate your views on the proposal that the Deputy Chair of the Land Court could be entitled to be appointed to hear a case from which the President and the other legal member of the Lands Tribunal have had to recuse themselves.

Agree / disagree

Please give your reasons.

5 Do you consider it necessary to continue to have a Gaelic speaker as one of the members of the Land Court?

Yes / no

Please give your reasons.

6 Do you consider that the Lands Tribunal power to award expenses under section 103 of the Title Condition (Scotland) Act 2003 should be amended so that expenses are not as tied to the success of an application as they are at present?

yes / no

Please give your reasons.

7 Do you think that the present power of the Land Court to award expenses against unsuccessful appellants in rural payment appeals operates as a barrier to justice?

yes / no

If your answer is “yes”, please indicate:

• why (e.g., from your personal experience of the system or some other reason) in the box below; and
• what, if anything, do you think should be done about it (e.g. abolish the power or introduce a ceiling on awards of expenses in such cases).

8 Please provide any further comments on any matters relevant to this consultation in the box below.