Civil justice statistics in Scotland: 2013-2014

The 2013-14 Civil Justice in Scotland release includes:

1. Main statistics tables (compromising tables that appear in this bulletin)

2. Divorce & dissolution statistics tables (further breakdowns on divorce & dissolution)

3. Supplementary statistics tables (additional statistics on civil law cases in sheriff courts and the Court of Session)

4. Background data tables (an interactive dataset on civil law court cases by court, that can be used to generate user customised tables and charts)


8. Damages

The number of damages cases initiated dropped for the fourth year in succession

Small claims made up nearly 60 per cent of damages cases in 2013-14

Three-quarters of damages cases disposed in the Court of Session had a decree of absolvitor

Damages in Scotland

Damages are a legal remedy that an individual can seek as compensation for harmful action they have experienced through the fault of another party. This can include (but is not limited to): defamation, breach of contract, damage to moveable property, negligence, breach of warranty or guarantee, breach of trust, wrongful diligence, wrongful interdict, malicious prosecution, wrongful apprehension or false imprisonment or fraudulent representation.

Courts

There were 3,195 damages cases initiated in 2013-14. This was the fourth successive year of decrease and represents a drop of a third since the peak in 2009-10 (Figure 16). Most damages cases (59 per cent) were raised as small claims. Despite the overall decrease in damages cases, there were increases in the number of commercial procedure, summary cause and Court of Session cases (Table 17).

Nearly half of small claim damages cases disposed were dismissed. The pattern of disposals for other damages cases was different, with absolvitor the most common disposal, particularly for cases in the Court of Session (Table 18).

Figure 16: Damages cases initiated in the civil courts

Figure 16: Damages cases initiated in the civil courts

Table 17: Damages cases initiated and disposed of in the civil courts, by case type, 2008-09 to 2013-14

Cases Procedure 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 % change
on 2012-13
Initiated Court of Session2 337 527 299 304 357 369 3
Sheriff: ordinary cause 738 791 630 491 496 447 -10
Sheriff: commercial 38 54 163 37 34 51 50
Sheriff: summary cause 434 561 453 488 382 441 15
Sheriff: small claim 3,080 2,918 2,586 2,364 2,009 1,887 -6
Total initiated 4,627 4,851 4,131 3,684 3,278 3,195 -3
Disposed Court of Session2 206 198 292 291 298 359 20
Sheriff: ordinary cause 1,415 666 595 675 623 435 -30
Sheriff: commercial 29 26 18 30 8 16 100
Sheriff: summary cause 410 450 457 452 383 340 -11
Sheriff: small claim 2,409 2,710 2,397 2,149 1,982 1,758 -11
Total disposed 4,469 4,050 3,759 3,597 3,294 2,908 -12

1. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases.
2. Includes ordinary and commercial cases.
3. Court of Session statistics for 2013-14 corrected November 2015.

 

Table 18: Damages cases initiated and disposed of in the civil courts, by case type and final disposal, 2013-14

Court type Case type Initiated Disposed Disposed
Absolvitor Dismissed For Pursuer Expenses Only Other
Defended Undefended Defended Undefended Defended Undefended
Court of Session Ordinary 295 233 168 4 3 42 9 1 0 6
Commercial 74 126 106 4 0 10 2 4 0 0
Court of Session total 369 359 274 8 3 52 11 5 0 6
Sheriff courts Small claim 1,887 1,758 533 57 787 31 320 4 18 8
Ordinary cause 447 435 262 29 14 70 47 3 2 8
Summary cause 441 340 134 13 105 16 61 1 2 8
Commercial 51 16 12 1 0 0 3 0 0 0
Sheriff courts total 2,826 2,549 941 100 906 117 431 8 22 24
Civil courts total 3,195 2,908 1,215 108 909 169 442 13 22 30

1. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases.
2. Statistics for Court of Session corrected November 2015.

Contact

Email: Alasdair Anthony

Back to top