Courts Reform ( Scotland) Bill – Privative Jurisdiction

This week we will be publishing an update each day covering a different reform contained in the (now passed) Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill. This update will cover the increase in the privative jurisdiction of the Sheriff Courts.

Increase of the Privative Jurisdiction

At present, any case which is for £5,000 or less must be raised in the Sheriff Court, as opposed to the Court of Session. The Bill increases the privative jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court to £100,000, meaning that all cases up to the value of £100,000 will, subject to certain limited exceptions, have to be raised in the Sheriff Court rather than Court of Session.

The initial draft Bill proposed to increase the privative jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court to £150,000 as recommended by the Scottish Civil Courts Review. The aim was to free up the Court of Session, Scotland's equivalent of the High Court, to deal with the most complex and novel cases. After consultation the limit was reduced to £100,000.