Scotland's courts are facing a new wave of disruption amid a warning the justice system is close to 'collapse'.

Solicitors across the country will take action from the beginning of next month by boycotting cases prosecuted under the Scottish Government's landmark domestic abuse legislation.

They will also refuse to act where an accused has no solicitor and cannot represent him or herself; and they will not take part in a virtual custody pilot designed to speed up the justice process.

Should the government not respond positively, the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) - which represent criminal defence lawyers  - say they will then withdraw from a groundbreaking scheme dedicated to prosecuting domestic abuse cases at Glasgow sheriff court.

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All 39 of Scotland's sheriff courts will be hit by the disruption due to start on June 1 which comes after talks between the SSBA and the Scottish Government over reforms to legal aid broke down.

The industrial action follows previous action, which ended in July 2022, by criminal defence lawyers which was also over legal aid.

The fresh disruption could drag on for weeks and will take place ahead of the general election on July 4.

It also comes amid wider problems in the criminal justice system with hundreds of prisoners serving sentences of under four years or who have 180 days or less left to serve to be released early because of overcrowding in the country's jails.

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Simon Brown, president of the SSBA, told The Herald that talks between the Scottish Government and the legal profession over legal aid reform had broken down with justice minister Siobhain Brown saying there was "no money".

"We had a meeting with Siobhain Brown, but her position was little more than a bland “there’s no money”, meaning we’ve been left with little option but to return to industrial action," he said.

In an email sent by the SSBA to Ms Brown yesterday and given to The Herald, Mr Brown said: "I am writing to you to advise that following the breakdown in talks over legal aid reform, the SSBA sees no option other than to resume our program of disruptive action.

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"As of 1st June 2024, our members will no longer take instructions in summary Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act  2022 section 1 summary prosecutions, nor will we accept any court appointments in cases where an unrepresented accused cannot act for himself. In addition we will be withdrawing from the Virtual Custody court steering group."

The dispute centres round the level paid to criminal defence lawyers through the legal aid system and how rates are reviewed - with the SSBA pushing for an annual review.

The last round of industrial action ended when the previous justice minister Ash Regan agreed to a 10% increase in fees, taking the fixed fee per summary case to £744 from £621 in 2006/7 and also committed to an annual review.

However, the SSBA say the 10% rise did not take effect until July 2023 by which case they say it was "cancelled out by inflation" while the annual review has still not progressed.

In his email to the minister, Mr Brown added: "The government refuses to accept the crisis currently taking place in criminal legal aid work. By the Legal Aid boards own figures, there are less than 800 criminal lawyers in the whole of Scotland, but with a demographic very much weighted to the older end of the scale."

He went onto say that the Public Defence Solicitors Office was running at a loss of nearly a million pounds a year.

"This is being ignored while John Swinney pontificates over his respect for the rule of law, and hands are being wrung at overfull prisons, not making the connection that a better funded criminal bar processes cases more quickly, leading to less time on remand. The whole system is near collapse and we fear unless drastic action is taken it will be too late to save it," Mr Brown told the minister.

Responding to the SSBA's plans for action, the Law Society of Scotland President Susan Murray: "We understand and fully appreciate the deep frustration that has driven SSBA members to take these steps.

"Criminal defence is a fundamental part of Scotland's justice system and the Law Society has long argued for a properly funded justice sector for the Scottish public. That means proper funding for legal aid and the criminal bar in Scotland.

"Without appropriate funding, it is ultimately the public who will suffer, particularly those who rely on legal aid to access legal representation for criminal and civil matters. This is a longstanding issue that must be capable of being resolved and for which solutions need to be found urgently."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Legal Aid Board said: “The number of solicitors actively involved in criminal legal assistance has remained stable at around 800 for the last four years. Activity is heavily concentrated among the busier solicitors, with many others undertaking very small amounts of legal aid work.

“The research being proposed by Scottish Government aimed to provide evidence to maintain the effective delivery of legal aid services at the scale and quality needed to ensure access to justice.

“The research was also intended to inform the development of a mechanism to review legal aid fees from year to year.

“Decisions on fees are a matter for Scottish Ministers but we see significant benefits in regular, transparent and evidence-based reviews of fees and remain fully committed to assisting the crucial research needed to underpin such an approach.

“The mix of work and types of activity carried out by the PDSO is very different to that done by firms in private practice, which makes comparisons difficult.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We note the Association’s announcement and would encourage them to continue to engage with us. We value the role that legal aid providers play in the justice system.

"Despite challenging financial circumstances, we have maintained resourcing of legal aid. The Legal Aid Fund is demand-led and directly linked to application numbers, with all eligible costs met.

“An £11 million package that increased fees for legal aid lawyers and supports the court recovery programme was implemented in April 2023. This brings the total additional funding to legal aid providers to £31 million since April 2021.”