Changes to the civil remedies available to victims of domestic abuse
23 Oct 2024
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The Scottish Law Commission has today published our Discussion Paper on Civil Remedies for Domestic Abuse.
The law in this area has been criticised for being overly complicated, for being spread over a number of different pieces of legislation, and because it is not always clear which remedy is most appropriate. This complexity and confusion makes it challenging for solicitors to advise on and for victim/survivors of domestic abuse to understand.
The Discussion Paper which we have now published sets out our provisional proposals for improvement of the law. These proposals include: the introduction of a new statutory delict of domestic abuse, the introduction of a definition of domestic abuse in civil law, together with a bespoke set of remedies to suit the individual needs of each victim/survivor. We also make proposals for changes to be made to the existing remedies for domestic abuse.
The paper seeks views on these proposals and asks a number of related questions.
The Commission is very keen to hear from everyone with an interest in the issues raised in the Discussion Paper. The consultation is open for comment until 22 January 2025. Please see an introductory talk on the paper by Commissioner Professor Gillian Black attached: https://youtu.be/a1S9YdNpUl.
For more information see our Discussion Paper and news release, together with an Executive Summary and other related documents. The project webpage is available here.
We have arranged two online webinars, at which Professor Gillian Black (the lead Commissioner for the project) will talk through the most important aspects of the paper with a short opportunity for questions.
The webinars will take place on:
If you wish to attend either webinar please click the relevant link above to access the registration form. Registration is required to attend, but otherwise the webinars are free and open to all. Each webinar will cover substantially similar material, so there is no need to attend both.
Please note that we intend to record the presentation parts of both webinars with a view to making a recording available on our YouTube channel at a later date. There will be an opportunity for questions after the presentation, but we do not intend to record that part of the seminar.