Lawyers have raised concerns that plans for the court service under level zero and beyond “do not go far enough” to tackle the mounting problems facing the country’s justice system.

The Law Society of Scotland said it was disappointed that the plans, announced yesterday by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), do not set out proposals for dealing with more complex cases which have largely been put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

They also raised concerns about the continued use of digital and virtual working in some situations where in-person hearings would work better.

SCTS confirmed that current restrictions at court will remain in place under level 0, with cautious changes such as physical distancing reducing to 1m being implemented from August 9 onwards.

This will allow additional courts to sit, however the plans include a proposal to make increasing use of virtual custody courts and summary trials, with the majority of civil court and tribunal business continuing virtually.

The court service is facing a backlog of almost 49,000 trials, with SCTS estimating that it may take until 2025 to deal with it. There are also growing concerns over the number of prisoners on long-term remand due to delays, and the impact on victims and witnesses.

Law Society president Ken Dalling said: “Whilst I welcome the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s move to quickly circulate this update following the First Minister’s statement, I share the concerns of our Criminal and Civil Law Committees that the ‘next steps’ plan does not go far enough towards fully re-opening our courts.

“Managing the criminal case backlog shouldn’t simply be a numbers game of how many cases can be processed. It is vital that the cases with added complexities are prioritised and resourced. Some of these will need in-person hearings to resolve.

“This is likely to include cases involving accused who may be disadvantaged in a virtual setting, accused on long term remand or accused involved in multiple accused cases – which have largely been put on hold due to the pandemic – as well as cases with vulnerable witnesses.

“I am disappointed that more attention hasn’t been given to managing these issues within the plan.”

He added that while digital working has delivered benefits in some areas, “that does not mean that every element of digital/virtual working should be retained for the future”.

The new plans come after it was confirmed last week that Sheriff and Justice of the Peace summary trials will be suspended for three weeks at the end of October due to the large police presence needed at the COP26 conference taking place in Glasgow.

Sheriff and jury trials will also be suspended for two weeks from November 1 as police witnesses will not be able to attend court due to the resourcing demands of the climate summit.

Defence lawyers claim the move will only add more pressure to a justice system “already straining at the seams” and that, had they been consulted, some cases could have proceeded.

Stuart Murray, vice president of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA), said: “Had lawyers been notified of this intended approach, discussions could have taken place to identify those trials for which police witnesses are not required or those trials in which police evidence could have been agreed.

“Rather than take a practical approach, a unilateral decision was taken to further delay court proceedings.”

He added: “The psychological impact on all those waiting in the wings for their cases to be dealt with should not be underestimated.

“That is especially true for those accused and complainers whose cases are at the more serious end of the spectrum, those accused who have been remanded in custody for in excess of a year and those complainers who have had the stress of court procedures hanging over their heads for the same lengthy periods of time.”

A spokesman for SCTS said: “Our plans will enable the courts to continue operating safely, while allowing more multi accused trials to take place, more witnesses to attend and providing enhanced support for vulnerable witnesses.

“The move beyond level 0 will also support the court recovery programme to address the backlog of criminal cases – with an additional 16 solemn and summary trails running daily across the Scotland. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, we will keep our approach under regular review over the coming months based on the public health guidance in place.”

He added: ““Last week SCTS and Police Scotland participated in a well-attended Law Society Conference on COP26, setting out the challenges of policing the conference. This has inevitable consequences on the criminal courts due to the unavailability of police officers as witnesses and their role in carrying out public order duties in our courts.”