A move to shift the most serious court cases from Angus to Dundee could lead to erosion in public confidence, an MSP has warned.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that all jury trials which would normally be heard at Forfar Sheriff Court will move to Dundee Sheriff Court from January.
As part of a phased change, some court business will move from Angus to Dundee from this month.
The change follows the closure of Arbroath Sheriff Court in 2014 which has led to an increased volume of business at Forfar Sheriff Court.
A spokesman for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said the transition of business in mainland jurisdictions to a number of sheriff and jury courts, one of which is Dundee Sheriff Court, was first outlined in the Shaping Scotland’s Courts report of 2013.
The spokesman added: “The changes are to be introduced over a 10 year period, as the body of new summary sheriffs becomes established, and are designed to improve the consistency and quality of service in an area, and thereby increase public confidence in the administration of justice.
“It remains the case that the efficient disposal of business within a sheriffdom is a matter for the sheriff principal of that jurisdiction.
“We can confirm that, after consideration, Sheriff Principal Lewis has decided that solemn business from Forfar Sheriff Court will move to Dundee Sheriff Court.
“First diets will move to Dundee from August of this year and will be managed in Dundee. The cases, if proceeding to trial, will go back to Forfar and call in the Forfar sheriff and jury sittings until January when all solemn business will move to Dundee.”
Six months after Arbroath Sheriff Court closed, Forfar sheriff Gregor Murray said that court staff were trying to “fight” their way through a “chock-a-block” diary following the merger.
He said the level of court business in Forfar following the closure of Arbroath was “significantly higher than anyone anticipated”.
The latest shake-up has been described by North East MSP Alex Johnstone as “farcical”.
He said: “When Arbroath Sheriff Court was under threat, I warned that closing it would place too great a burden on Forfar, and I understand that is exactly what has happened.
“We are now faced with the farcical scenario where the defendant, witnesses and potentially jurors too will all be travelling on the same public transport to and from the court each day.
“The Scottish judicial system, once the envy of the world, is now becoming increasingly remote from the communities it is supposed to serve.
“In my view, justice should be done locally, and be seen to be done too.
“The public must have confidence that the system deals appropriately with those who break the law, but the scorched earth approach we are now seeing towards our courts must bring with it an erosion of that all important confidence.
“With some cases now being moved from Forfar to Dundee, we are seeing another phase of the Scottish Government’s centralising agenda, and it really does not bode well for the future.”
