Court hearings could be conducted online under plans for major shake-up

Plans to bring Scottish courts "right into the 21st century" through better use of technology could see some hearings conducted online and fewer witnesses required to appear.

Proposals from the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) would "reduce the frustration and costs" of summary criminal proceedings - less serious criminal offences heard in front of a sheriff or justice of the peace without a jury.

Changes would see all pre-trial procedures take place as part of a "digital case management process", with court hearings only used for contested pre-trial preliminary pleas or issues.

There would be stronger judicial oversight to bring about more agreement of evidence where possible, and to ensure summary trials focus on what is in dispute.

There would also be an option for sentencing to be "conducted digitally" without the accused needing to appear in court in cases where guilty pleas are tendered.

The SCTS proposal paper also suggests trial dates and witness citation should only be set after the entire case management process, meaning fewer people would be called to appear.

The Law Society welcomed the proposals but raised concerns about a potential conflict for defence solicitors around the pre-trial management of criminal cases.

Audit Scotland reports have previously described sheriff court proceedings as inefficient with an excess of "churn" in the system as cases roll on.

Figures for 2015/16 show there were just over 125,000 summary complaints raised in Scottish courts.

SCTS chief executive Eric McQueen said: "With the digital age well and truly upon us, we are surrounded by technology that shapes our lives, connects us and transforms the way that we conduct and transact business online. Against this background we have the opportunity to reconsider fundamentally how our services are delivered.

"It is fair to say that our summary criminal court procedure has not kept pace with such innovation. Our criminal courts, with their origins in the Victorian times, still rely heavily on paper transactions, postal-based practices and bringing people together in a courtroom for procedural hearings and trials, many months after an incident.

"As recent Audit Scotland reports have highlighted, this brings inherent inefficiency, delay and inconvenience.

"I am pleased to introduce this paper which describes what a new summary criminal court process could look like underpinned by digital case management.

"Our task now is to bring our summary criminal court procedure right into the 21st century, not by tinkering at the edges, but by radical digital transformation to improve the quality of justice for all concerned."

SCTS is setting up a programme of public events to discuss the proposals this year.

Eilidh Wiseman, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: "Greater use of technology could bring substantial improvement to our courts. However, if we are to adopt more technology-driven processes, they will need to be properly resourced.

"We also need to be aware that not everyone has access to the internet and it will be essential that accused people, particularly those who are vulnerable, fully understand any new system to ensure their rights are upheld.

"A key area of focus for us is around the proposals for defence solicitors, who would be expected to take a more active role in the pre-trial management of criminal cases.

"Such a model raises some challenging and practical issues for defence solicitors in making sure they continue to meet their professional obligations of working in the best interests of their client, and would also have implications for legal aid - which has been recognised in the paper.

"Moving towards a digital future for summary justice is the clear direction of travel, and the review paper provides an important opportunity to look at how we can we work towards improving our criminal justice system."