Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018: interim reporting requirement

9. Court Business

This section provides the information gathered to meet Section 14(4) of the Act:

(4)For the purpose of the report, the Scottish Ministers must seek information from the Lord President of the Court of Session on how court business is arranged, including in different areas or types of court, so as to ensure the efficient disposal of cases involving those sorts of offences.

The Chief Executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) wrote to the Scottish Ministers in response to a letter sent by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans to the Lord President seeking information about how court business is arranged to ensure the efficient disposal of cases involving domestic abuse between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2022.

That letter noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the work of Scotland's courts throughout a large proportion of the reporting period, though SCTS sought to ensure that cases involving domestic abuse remained a priority at all times.

It noted that cases involving domestic abuse make up a significant proportion of all the business currently processed by Scotland's criminal justice system. 95% of domestic abuse court cases are heard in the sheriff summary court. In 2021-22, domestic abuse cases accounted for 25% of all sheriff summary case registrations, 33% of sheriff summary trials called and 42% of sheriff summary trials in which evidence was led. They noted that with such high volumes, it can be challenging to afford priority to these cases.

Tables 4 and 5 below presents relevant data on:

• The average length of time (in weeks) between a plea being made (generally the first court appearance) and a trial diet being available (at which the case could be disposed of if it proceeded to trial); and,
• The average length of time (in weeks) between the pleading diet and a trial actually taking place. This figure is higher than the "first available trial diet" as, for the trial to take place, all parties to the case must be ready for it and all witnesses present.

Data for each of the three years covered by the reporting period is provided, indicating the average period for (i) all summary cases, (ii) cases involving a domestic abuse aggravator and (iii) cases not involving a domestic abuse aggravator. The figures demonstrate that the judiciary and courts have continued to prioritise domestic abuse cases, though the pandemic has led to increases in waiting periods generally, which are now being addressed through the recovery programme.

Extensive data relating to the volumes of domestic abuse cases registered, called and concluded from 2014-15 to date can be found in the Quarterly Criminal Court Statistics, which are available at the Official Statistics section of the SCTS website.

In addition to maintaining priority in the "traditional" management of domestic abuse cases, the judiciary and the SCTS have also explored the potential for domestic abuse cases to be managed differently, enhancing efficiency whilst developing a more trauma-informed approach.

Building on pilots of new approaches to managing summary criminal cases conducted as part of the Evidence and Procedure Review the SCTS have now launched the Summary Case Management pilot in Dundee, Hamilton and Paisley sheriff courts. The pilot seeks to reduce the number of unnecessary hearings through facilitating early disclosure of evidence and early judicial case management. Key evidence will be available to be released to the defence prior to or at the first calling in all domestic abuse cases. In all other cases, specified disclosure material can be requested where it is considered that such early disclosure may make a material difference to a plea or the early resolution of issues. The differentiation of domestic abuse cases has been maintained in recognition of their particular impact and the desire for them to be prioritised.

The automatic provision of key evidence in domestic abuse cases should put the defence in a significantly different position from the early stage of the case. It will allow the defence to engage more meaningfully with the Crown (COPFS) on both plea and resolution, failing which, on the agreement of evidence. This should lead to efficiencies for defence agents and for the Crown.

For those directly involved in a case, there is the opportunity for matters to be resolved at the earliest possible stage, achieving earlier certainty and minimising potential trauma in the process. The pilot will run for 18 months and will be evaluated at six-monthly intervals, with a final evaluation and report by the end of March 2024. Regular interim evaluations will allow consideration to be given to whether the pilot can be rolled out to other courts before a final evaluation. Two of the performance indicators that will be measured throughout the pilot are:

• The percentage of domestic abuse cases requiring to call at intermediate diet^[45]
• The percentage of domestic abuse trials in which evidence is led at trial diet.

It is hoped that the former will reduce and the latter increase as a consequence of the pilot.

Virtual summary trials were initially investigated as a response to the restrictions placed on the court estate as a consequence of the pandemic. An initial report produced by Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle in July 2020 recommended their further exploration and development. This led to the establishment of the Virtual Trials National Project Board which issued its report on the piloting of virtual summary trials in January this year. The report recommends that specialist online courts be set up to tackle domestic abuse cases. These would offer key advantages in:

• Increasing protection and reducing trauma for complainers;
• Making it easier for witnesses to give their evidence;
• Offering efficiencies in reducing the need for individuals to travel to court;
• Capturing best evidence and introducing trauma-informed practices as recommended in the Lord Justice Clerk's review of sexual offending.

SCTS note that, building on their experience to date, they are now working to establish a dedicated specialist virtual domestic abuse court that will operate across the sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands. The aspiration is to roll this approach out across all sheriffdoms in due course, subject to successful implementation and the resources being available to do so.