The official unveiling of a streamlined form of agricultural arbitration has been welcomed as a “milestone” by Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead.
To be known as Short Form Arbitration, the simplified procedure is the brainchild of the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association (SAAVA).
It is designed to apply to a range of dispute resolution but will mainly be used in the first instance for rental determination.
Unveiling the final package at an event at Craigie’s Farm Shop near Edinburgh, SAAVA president Martin Hall said Short Form Arbitration would be carried out by a person drawn from a panel of professionally qualified arbiters.
“It should take the heat out of farm tenancy disputes and avoid the extreme level of costs incurred when a case is taken to the Land Court,” Mr Hall said.
To an audience which included Land Court chairman Lord McGhie, Mr Hall added: “The Land Court itself is not expensive, but the race to arms which follows the decision to take a case there certainly is.
“The Land Court then becomes a heavy-handed negotiation tool only for those with deep pockets.
“The cost of dispute resolution must be proportionate to the scale of the dispute itself.
“With no disrespect to the Land Court, I would also suggest that rental matters are a matter best dealt with by practical valuation.
“SAAVA have tailored the Short Form Arbitration with this in mind, and the principle has been to make this something that could be dealt with round the kitchen table.”
The timing of this week’s unveiling of the new procedure is significant because it will allow it to be used in rental determinations ahead of Martinmas (November 30) rent reviews.
Mr Hall estimated the cost at somewhere between £1,500 and £2,500.
This compares favourably with the cost, generally estimated to run into six figures, of the Land Court and Court of Session hearings to determine the rent of Moonzie Farm at Cupar.
“The new format should take two to three months at the most and need minimal legal representation,” he said.
“We must avoid the baggage of old where what should have been straightforward arbitrations soon escalated to needing Queen’s Counsel on both sides.”
Mr Hall unveiled a new practitioner’s guide to help the rent review process.
Such a document had been called for by the Rent Review Working Group appointed by the Tenant Farming Forum (TFF).
Running to 203 pages, it will not be an easy or quick read, but a summary has also been produced.
Professor Phil Thomas, chairman of the cross-sector TFF, told the meeting he welcomed the arrival of Short Form Arbitration.
Rent reviews had only been one of the workstreams considered by the TFF along with tenant’s diversification and assignation of tenancies.
His intention was to report to the Scottish Government soon and ahead of the forthcoming ministerially-led review of land tenure and land reform.
Mr Lochhead welcomed the arbitration procedure and believed it had the “potential to be one of the missing pieces of the jigsaw” when it came to creating a “fair and transparent” tenanted sector.
“I have spent a lot of time trying to find a way forward for the sector and as part of that it is important to address dispute resolution,” he said.