Scotland's High Court is bracing for more than double its usual number of cases, as prosecutors prepare to indict around 240 potential cases a month between October 2026 and March 2027 while the justice system works through cases delayed by the pandemic.

Crown Agent John Logue set out the figures in a letter to Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee, warning that the surge will add to pressure on victims, courts and prisons. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service expects about 3,000 High Court indictments in the next financial year.

What the figures show

High Court scheduled trials remain at more than twice their 2019-20 level and continue to rise, according to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service's criminal court modelling published in August 2026. The backlog of scheduled criminal trials across Scotland peaked at 43,606 in January 2022 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and had fallen to 12,992 by the end of July 2026.

The modelling says the continuing pressure in solemn business is being driven by sustained growth in the volume and complexity of serious criminal cases, including complex, multi-accused and lengthy trials. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service plans to register 575 indictments per month in 2026-27.

Pressure on victims, courts and prisons

Mr Logue told the committee the increase was temporary and planned for, with case numbers expected to fall in summer 2027. However, he said they would remain higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, reflecting what he described as a "new normal".

The Lord Justice General, Lord Pentland, has warned that "without systemwide change, the impact on victims, witnesses, accused, court users and the prison population, will be severe".

The committee has been examining how the courts, the Crown Office and the prison service will cope with the extra workload, at a time when the number of scheduled trials is still far above pre-pandemic levels.

Extra capacity planned

The Scottish government said High Court capacity would rise to 26 trial courts a day from January, compared with 16 at the start of the decade. The additional courts are intended to help the system work through the backlog while keeping waiting times for victims and witnesses under control.

The modelling indicates that High Court scheduled trial numbers and waiting periods will continue to increase in the short term, reflecting the sustained upward trend in new business evident before the pandemic. Prosecutors and court officials say the aim is to return the number of scheduled trials to a sustainable level, but that will take time given the scale of the cases now coming through the system.