Specialist online courts should be set up to deal with domestic abuse cases, a report has recommended.

The Virtual Trials National Project Board said that creating such courts could increase protection and reduce trauma for complainers and make it easier for witnesses to give their evidence.

It recommends every sheriffdom in Scotland should have a dedicated virtual court for summary domestic abuse cases - heard by a sheriff sitting without a jury.

Its new report reviews the experience gained in the virtual summary trials project, established by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) in May 2021, which held trials in Inverness and Aberdeen.

The report, which has been welcomed by victims’ organisations, found that introducing online courts for domestic abuse cases could help mitigate delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a backlog in cases.

The Board, led by Derek Pyle, Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands, has presented the findings to the Lord Justice General, Lord Carloway, SCTS and Justice Secretary, Keith Brown.

Lord Carloway said: “I fully support the recommendation of the Virtual Trials National Project Board that a virtual domestic abuse summary trial court should be established in each Sheriffdom.

"The pilot has clearly established the merit of this proposal.”

The report states there are about 33,000 summary trials outstanding, compared to about 14,000 pre-pandemic, and that about one quarter of all outstanding summary trials are domestic abuse cases.

Victim Support Scotland chief executive, Kate Wallace, welcomed the report and said: “This change is long overdue.

"People we support in domestic abuse situations have given feedback that this way of giving evidence is more appropriate, more trauma-informed, and also means they will not come face-to-face with the accused in court.”