Glasgow Sheriff Court - Civil Interlocutors update

The Sheriff Principal and the sheriffs of Glasgow Sheriff Court have recently completed a comprehensive review of all court interlocutors used in family actions, ordinary actions, summary applications and social work referrals.

As a result of this work, practitioners may begin to receive the new interlocutors in cases calling this week. The project, led by the Sheriff Principal and developed in collaboration with justice partners, has been a recurring topic of discussion at Glasgow justice partner working groups over the past nine months. The conclusion of this first phase marks an important milestone in the ongoing modernisation of court processes.

The new interlocutors have been reformatted to improve clarity and accessibility. Individual decisions and orders are now set out in numbered paragraphs, making them easier to read and understand. The interlocutors will also feature the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom and, where applicable, will replicate the instance of the action above the body of the interlocutor. As before, all interlocutors will remain electronically authenticated by the sheriff.

Alongside the revised format, the content of each standard interlocutor has been reviewed and updated. The introduction of a standardised bank of shrieval-approved interlocutors is intended to deliver a number of benefits. It is hoped that greater consistency will reduce grammatical, spelling and other errors, thereby minimising the need for judicial amendment and reissue. The use of standard interlocutors should also enable documents to be sent to sheriffs more quickly following court hearings, supporting faster turnaround times and earlier issue of interlocutors to parties.

Glasgow Sheriff Court welcomes feedback from practitioners and other stakeholders as these changes are implemented. The court will continue discussions through established forums, including the Civil Court Users Group and the Social Work Referrals Liaison Group, and looks forward to ongoing engagement with court users and justice partners.

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Members of the Royal Faculty of Procurators who wish to provide feedback or raise any queries are invited to contact the RFPG representatives on the Civil Court Users Group through the library in the first instance.