All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injuries Court - new administrative sheriff and procedural change

The PI sheriffs and staff have been carrying out a review of court procedures and practices, with a view to improving efficiency. As part of that review, Sheriff McGowan has announced that new arrangements for the programming of opposed motions in the PI court will take effect from 2 May 2017.

Presently, opposed motions are primarily dealt with in the Procedural Court, which is held on a Monday unless there is a court holiday. In addition, hearings for opposed motions are offered to agents on an ad hoc basis on days where no PI proofs are going ahead.

From 2 May 2017, short opposed motions lodged by 12:30pm on a court day will be heard on the third court day following. Special arrangements may still be required in those weeks where there are court holidays.

Long opposed motions will be allocated a calling date by administrative staff, taking account of the importance and urgency of the motion and the availability of parties and a suitable court slot.

While long motions will still be allocated to call in the Procedural Court where there is capacity, they will also be allocated to call before the PI Proofs’ Sheriff on other days of the week.

It is hoped that the foregoing changes will allow opposed motions to be dealt with more quickly.

Further details on the new arrangements can be found here.