Costly appeals highlight need for a more proportionate system

The SLCC has defended two leave to appeal hearings in the Inner House of the Court of Session in the past fortnight.

In one case, the judge granted the law firm complained about leave to appeal a final decision of a Determination Committee. In the other, the judge refused a complainer leave to appeal the decision that his complaint was not eligible for investigation.

Gillian Martin, Case Investigation Manager commented,

“These cases give an insight into the challenges and costs of the current complaints system, where the SLCC spends significant time and money defending its decisions in the highest court in the land.

“Legal and court fees are a key driver of cost in our current system, and even where we are able to successfully defend appeals, and our process and decision making has been found to be without fault, we are often unable to recover those costs.

“This moves us further away from the swift, efficient and cost-effective resolution of complaints that we know all parties want to see.

“We continue to believe building consensus around reform to a more proportionate system would best service the public and the profession.”