Justice demands that court reform is vital - leader comment

You don’t need to look very far to see the problems in Scotland’s courts service today.

The length of time cases take to come to a conclusion, in some instances years, is simply unacceptable. And, as has been warned for some time, it is only going to get worse as the case load increases. An issue which can be traced back to Covid has snowballed to become a never-ending always-increasing backlog.

Malcolm Graham, chief executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), today calls on the Scottish Government for much more support as the latest modelling forecasts the number of High Court indictments will be almost three times the figure of three years ago.

Mr Graham says: “The biggest issue with that is that victims and witnesses and other people that are involved in court cases are going to have to wait longer for their case to be resolved, and we know that that’s not good for justice outcomes.

“It’s not good for the individuals in terms of us really wanting to run a trauma-informed process.”

Mr Graham says the SCTS needs around £60 million over five years to achieve the reform required.

Such an investment may be difficult to find at a time of constrained budgets, but given the seriousness we hope this is given the attention it needs in Bute House.

Justice delayed is justice denied, and a lengthy court process placing the lives of victims and accused on hold is in no-one’s interest.

It is appalling, particularly in cases involving sexual offences that traumatised victims are being made to wait so long.

At the same time, someone facing prosecution should not have to wait years for the case against them to be tested in court.

We know well the issues facing Scotland’s prisons, and the pressures on Police Scotland in all areas. Adding overstretched courts to that mix simply makes both more acute.

We trust Mr Graham’s warning will be heeded today, and we see the sort of end to end reform that is so desperately required.