Commenting on the latest civil justice statistics, published today, Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) said:
"There is something seriously wrong with our civil justice system when a significant downwards trend in the number of claims coming to court is somehow combined with ever-increasing backlogs.
"Although the report cites the number of cases stayed during the pandemic as the reason for the delays, this cannot be the only reason for such a broken system. We should be seeing improvements in access to justice for citizens now that we are nearly three years on from the start of the pandemic. Moreover, following an ACSO FOI request, we have also established that the number of judicial sitting days increased nearly 50 per cent between 2020 and 2021, from 2,071 to 3,082. So there are more court days, but still the backlogs increase.
"On this government's watch the civil justice system has become a cinderella service, with our country's historic reputation for the rule of law seriously threatened. Most citizens who require the law go through the civil courts, and they should have confidence that their claims are heard quickly, so that settlements can be made and they can get on with their lives. In fact, the opposite is happening, yet there is little evidence from these latest statistics that ministers and officials are really gripping the issue."