The Scottish Government published the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill on 2 June. In our first blog, we looked at the crofting provisions of the Bill, and we now turn to those relating to the Scottish Land Court.
Expanding the Scottish Land Court
The Scottish Land Court was established in 1912 and has a long history of serving the agricultural community. The Court's primary jurisdiction is to deal with questions between landlords and tenants of agricultural land - including crofts, smallholdings, and tenanted farms - under a variety of legislation.
The Lands Tribunal was established in 1949 and has an extensive range of jurisdictions, including determination of compensation for the compulsory acquisition (or loss in value) of land, references relating to the accuracy of the Land Register, and appeals about the valuation of land acquired under community rights to buy.
Discussions around amalgamating the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland began in the 1970s, and although there was little support at that time, since 1978 the Chair of the Land Court has also been appointed as President of the Lands Tribunal. They also currently share premises and are both administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (each with their own administrative staff).
In 2020, a new consultation sought views on merging the two, including on whether the merged body should be a court or a tribunal. While views were evenly split on whether amalgamation should take place, an overwhelming majority considered that any resultant body should be an expanded court rather than a tribunal (given the historical significance of the court and the view that a court would be more suitable for taking on extra functions).
On the basis that one cohesive body would offer structural coherence, efficiency, and the delivery of a better service, the Bill therefore provides for an expanded Scottish Land Court.
Proposed changes
The proposals provide for transferring the functions and jurisdiction of the Lands Tribunal into the new body, and for associated administrative changes, while restating the current position in relation to some aspects which will remain unchanged – for example, in relation to the role of the Chair. Further consultation is anticipated in relation to the development of court rules and a new court fee structure.
A further consequence of the intended merger is to widen the judicial membership of the Upper Tribunal (which hears appeals on decisions of chambers of the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland – a separate tribunal from the Lands Tribunal). Currently, members of the Lands Tribunal and other members of the Scottish Land Court are not eligible to act in the Upper Tribunal as a result of holding office in either of those bodies, but the Bill provides for suitably qualified members of the merged Court to act in the Upper Tribunal.
Additional functions presently exercised by the Sheriff Court which are to be added to the jurisdiction of the new Court, include:
- the March Dykes Act 1661;
- the March Dykes Act 1669;
- the Runrig Lands Act 1695;
- the Division of Commonties Act 1695;
- the “right to buy” provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016; and
- right of responsible access (also known as “right to roam”) cases under section 28 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.
Environmental matters
It is also anticipated that the Scottish Land Court may in future take on the functions of a specialised environmental court. The Scottish Government has been criticised for failing to ensure access to justice in environmental matters is “fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive.” At present such cases (known as Aarhus cases) are brought either by means of judicial review or as a statutory appeal under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 - both types are heard in the Court of Session and are generally very expensive.
Call for views
The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee is the lead committee within the Scottish Government scrutinising the Bill, and it has opened a call for views to help inform examination of the provisions. Views can be submitted here until Friday 5 September 2025.
For further information or advice, please get in touch with one of our agricultural lawyers or your usual Brodies contact.
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