Lawyers across Scotland have begun the first working week of industrial action amid pressure on the system and complaints the profession is at "breaking point". 

Around 800 criminal defence solicitors have begun boycotting cases prosecuted under the Scottish Government's landmark domestic abuse legislation following a collapse in talks last month with the Scottish Government over legal aid reforms.

They are also refusing 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.

The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA), which represents criminal defence solicitors and is behind the action, say if ministers to do respond positively they will escalate disruption court business including withdrawing from a groundbreaking scheme dedicated to prosecuting domestic abuse cases at Glasgow sheriff court.

READ MORE: Courts face major disruption as lawyers take action

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.

All 39 of Scotland's sheriff courts are being affected by the action which comes after talks between the SSBA and the Scottish Government over reforms to legal aid broke down.

READ MORE: Sarwar: Labour against Holyrood gender recognition 'power grab'

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

The new round of disruption could drag on for weeks and is taking place ahead of the general election on July 4.

It also comes amid wider problems in the criminal justice system with some 500 prisoners serving sentences of under four years or who have 180 days or less left to serve to be released early this month to ease overcrowding in the country's jails.

Simon Brown, president of the SSBA, told The Herald: "The boycott was in place in every court, and I've not heard of anyone not supporting it.

"This one doesn't have an immediate impact, as an accused can appear himself and plead not guilty at a first appearance, but he can't conduct his own trial, so we'll start to see an impact in about six weeks time when the first trials start to come around.

"One of the reasons we picked this particular action is that delay should give the government time to respond, so far complete radio silence."

He added: "We are desperately trying to draw the government's attention to the perilous state the criminal defence bar is in. 

"With only one criminal lawyer available for roughly every 4500 adults in Scotland, the system is at breaking point. The lack of time to prepare means trials are often delayed, inconveniencing both witnesses and accused. 

"With legal aid rates at about half of where they should be if they had kept pace with inflation, these delays further dilute the fees these cases attract, leading to more and more criminal lawyers leaving for better paid areas of law.

"The only reason this system is functioning is because we are working flat out just to keep up." 

Responding to the SSBA's plans for action, the Law Society of Scotland President Susan Murray said last month: "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."

Responding to the SSBA's announcement of its planned action a Scottish Government spokesperson said last month: “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.”