Longer delays for justice without 'significant' reforms, courts chief warns
Calls for major investment and reform to create more ‘coherent’ system
The courts system must be “reformed from end to end”, the head of the service has said as a report projected significant delays because of an increasing workload.
Malcolm Graham, chief executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), called on the Scottish government to provide support as it was forecast the number of high court indictments will this year be almost three times the figure from three years ago.
Scottish government statistics show the median journey from a crime first being known to the police to a high court verdict was 123 weeks in 2024/25. The court stage, measured from court registration to verdict, accounted for 45 weeks of that journey.
The latest modelling projects the average wait for the court stage of the process alone in high court cases could rise to 135 weeks by 2028/29, adding significantly to the time victims, witnesses and accused people wait for resolution.
Mr Graham said: “With the level of cases that are being indicted into the high court by the Crown at the moment, and what we predict coming in the future, even with that expansion of high court numbers we know that the journey times across a case and the number of cases in the system is going to increase.
“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 said there has been a noticeable increase in serious sexual offences and domestic abuse related cases, and the report concludes the continuing pressure in solemn business is being driven by sustained growth in the volume and complexity of serious criminal cases.
As sheriff solemn volumes and waiting periods also remain under pressure, the modelling said future capacity decisions will require careful assessment of system-wide and local impacts.
Mr Graham continued: “There’s a number of reasons, I believe, why there’s more cases coming into the courts, and some of those reasons are as a result of proactive steps being taken to address really concerning issues in society.
“Around 70 per cent of the cases that come to trial in the high court at the moment are serious sexual offences or domestic abuse-related, and that’s a proportion of cases far higher than it would have been in the past.
“What comes with that is a responsibility on SCTS to ensure we are doing everything that we can to be as effective in supporting victims and witnesses through their case, and making sure that we’re as efficient as possible in terms of the administration of justice.”
In recent years, innovations like digital evidence sharing capability, summary case management, and the introduction of remote evidence for police and expert witnesses have helped modernise swathes of the criminal justice system and increase efficiency.
But while the SCTS has been supportive of the approach set out in the Scottish government’s public service reform strategy - which calls for digitisation and reconfiguration of services to deliver future recurring savings - it has pointed out that achieving such savings requires a degree of up-front investment.
It is understood that includes investment in digital systems that are regarded as being at “end of life,” with ambitions to modernise casework systems via various applications. Work is also underway to transform the way jurors come into contact with the justice system, with a new user-focused, digital first approach being prioritised.
However, realising such goals with the budgets being provided has been an increasing source of frustration. The SCTS currently runs around 130 separate information communication technology applications out of a government data centre, and there is a desire to integrate those systems to address cybersecurity and data protection issues.
Earlier this year, Mr Graham told Holyrood’s criminal justice committee that the system was “some way behind where we could be.”
He told MSPs in February: “There is a significant gap at the moment in terms of a criminal justice system-wide vision and articulation of what the future could look like if it was supported by considerable investment in digitisation.”
In the wake of the new modelling data, the SCTS reiterated its calls for the Scottish government to assist it to reform. Mr Graham said: “The criminal justice journey must be reformed from end to end so that national justice organisations can operate as a more coherent system.
“Unless we consider significant reforms in how we manage our most serious cases, the continued rise in serious and complex criminal business is likely to result in longer delays in securing justice for victims, increased pressure on prisons and additional challenges across the wider justice system.”
Mr Graham said the SCTS would need around £60 million over the first five years to achieve this reform.
“We need the support from government … The benefits we think we’ll get from that will way exceed that level of investment.”
Earlier this month, the SCTS announced that a record number of High Court venues will be in place by the start of 2027 as part of ongoing efforts to tackle a surge in trials.
It said the addition of four High Court venues, bringing the total to 14, would allow it hold up to 26 trials a day, compared to just 16 at the start of this decade.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The increasing volume and complexity of serious criminal cases is a challenge for the whole justice system.
“Prosecutors are taking action within existing frameworks to progress cases as efficiently as possible and reduce unnecessary delay.
“Victims and witnesses remain at the forefront of our work, and we are committed to ensuring cases are prosecuted fairly, independently and as quickly as possible.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government continues to work closely with justice partners, including the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, on reform measures and is providing targeted investment to ensure victims and witnesses experience a more efficient, trauma-informed justice system.
“We recognise the growing volume of serious cases and continue to invest in court capacity. We will invest £11.6 billion across the justice system in 2026-27 to 2028-29 as we continue to support frontline services, build safe communities, reduce crime and re-offending and support victims and witnesses.
“Reforms across our justice services are required to respond to society’s changing needs, remove duplication and ensure there are modern user-centred digital services which deliver best value for money and fully support all users of the justice system. This includes expanding digital evidence sharing capability and enabling police and expert witnesses to give their evidence remotely.”