Number of judges in Scotland below CoE median

A recent report reveals that Scotland has a significantly lower number of judges in relation to its population when compared to other countries in the Council of Europe (CoE).

The CEPEJ Evaluation Report from the Council of Europe analyzes important statistics from 2022 related to the judicial systems of all 48 member countries.

The findings indicate that Scotland has a relatively small number of judges for every 100,000 residents, with a ratio of 3.65. This is significantly below the Council of Europe's average of 17.6. On the other hand, the number of staff members who are not judges, per judge, stands at 9.82, which is one of the highest ratios in Europe.

The report highlights that judges in Scotland receive significantly higher salaries at the start of their careers compared to the average for other member countries in the Council of Europe. Specifically, the typical salary for judges in Scotland is €166,195, in contrast to €46,812 in other member states. This disparity is partly because judges in the UK and other common law nations typically become judges after working as lawyers, whereas in many European countries, individuals can start their judicial careers straight out of university, as pointed out in the report.

At the end of their careers, judges in Scotland earn significantly more than the average across the Council of Europe, with a median salary of €254,813 compared to the CoE median of €100,367.

In 2012, women made up 22 percent of judges in Scotland, and by 2022, that number increased to 28 percent. Additionally, in 2012, 63 percent of prosecutors were women, and this figure climbed to 68 percent by 2022.

Scotland's expenditure on legal aid is over ten times higher than the Council of Europe's average. According to the report, a significant proportion of cases receive legal aid, with Scotland providing it in three cases for every 100 people, while the Council of Europe median is just 0.9 cases. Furthermore, the average legal aid amount awarded per case in Scotland is €680, which is nearly 50% above the European average.

Additionally, the report highlights that Scotland offered minimal information regarding case flow. It points out, "In fact, the case management system is not designed in a manner that enables the extraction of these figures."

Trial courts handle criminal cases effectively, with a clearance rate exceeding 100% and processing times shorter than the Council of Europe's median. However, they face challenges in civil cases, achieving only an 86% clearance rate.