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Legal Matters
Scotland
Scottish courts to address sexual offences backlog

The Justice Secretary Angela Constance has confirmed plans to establish standalone sexual offences courts as part of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill, aiming to tackle Scotland’s significant trial backlog of 17,873 cases. The proposed courts would focus on complex sexual offence cases, streamlining processes, reducing adjournments, and ensuring quicker trials. Constance argues this would improve efficiency by better deploying judicial resources across Scotland’s existing High Court and sheriff court locations. She also announced a pilot project allowing more rape survivors to deliver personal impact statements, either in person or via pre-recording. While Constance highlights benefits for victims, critics from Scottish Labour and Conservatives have raised concerns about costs, bureaucracy, and whether resources would be better spent improving trauma-informed practices within existing courts.

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