FOI Release: Court cases (employment tribunal and other)

Published: 14 August 2025
Freedom of information class: What we spend and how

Information request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).


FOI reference: CW-2025-423
Date received: 15 July 2025
Date clarified: 18 July 2025 
Date responded: 14 August 2025

Information requested:

You asked us for the following information:

  1. The number of all cases and appeals, including any currently in progress, at the Employment Tribunal in which Registers of Scotland has found itself a respondent, from 1 January 2020 to the present day.
  2. The total amount expended by Registers of Scotland in its defence of each case during this period (including, to date, any currently in progress).
  3. The amount of each financial settlement, whether court ordered or arrived at out-of-court, which has been paid by Registers of Scotland to each complainant, during this timeframe.
  4. The number of cases in other courts in which Registers of Scotland has defended itself or is currently defending itself, during this same timeframe.
  5. The amount, spent to date, defending each of those cases.
  6. The amount of each financial settlement, whether court ordered or arrived at out-of-court, which has been paid by Registers of Scotland in respect of each of these cases.

Response:

  1. Registers of Scotland reports 2 Employment Tribunal cases as a respondent during the said timeframe (one in 2023 and one in 2025; the 2025 case is ongoing).
  2. The legal cost of defending the 2023 Employment Tribunal case totalled £7,898.90; the legal cost of defending the 2025 case has been £12,534.96 to date. We do not hold information on the apportionment per case of Register of Scotland employees’ time in dealing with each individual case.
  3. We are withholding this information for the 2023 Employment Tribunal case under exemption 38(1)(b) (third party personal data) of FOISA, as disclosing this would breach the lawfulness, fairness, and transparency principle under data protection laws. We do not hold this information for the 2025 Employment Tribunal case as the case is ongoing at the time of this request.
  4. The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland defended herself in a total of 14 cases in courts other than the Employment Tribunal during the said time frame (13 were Lands Tribunal cases and 1 was Court of Session). The Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 provides that a person may refer the accuracy of the register to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland or appeal a decision of the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland to said Tribunal (sections 82 and 103 respectively).  Section 82 referrals do not typically place the Keeper in the position of defender or first respondent, these typically being between the parties whose rights are in dispute, and therefore these are excluded from our totals.  Section 103 appeals place the Keeper in a role typical to that of defender and so are included for these purposes.
  5. Registers of Scotland pay an annual fee to Scottish Government Legal Directorate for the provision of legal services and advice (including litigation and tribunal work). We do not hold information on the apportionment per case of the annual fee nor on the apportionment per case of Register of Scotland employees’ time in dealing with each individual case. This figure is therefore not available.
  6. The financial settlements paid by Registers of Scotland in respect of the cases noted in the answer to question 4 total £260,500.17. This is the total monies paid in relation to the 6 of the 14 cases, noted as answer to question 4, where a financial settlement was made.

    We are withholding the individual settlement amounts under exemption 38(1)(b) (third party personal data) of FOISA. In combination with other publicly available information regarding the cases they can reasonably be related to individuals, so disclosing this would breach the lawfulness, fairness, and transparency principle under data protection laws.

    Sums paid in respect of litigation can relate to the Keeper’s express statutory role as a registrar of rights in land.  The Keeper is legally obliged to pay compensation where parties’ rights in land have been affected whether or not the Keeper is at fault. In some instances, compensation claimants disagree with the Keeper’s assessment of the sum due and so the Keeper’s decision can be appealed to a tribunal.

    In common with other title registration systems globally the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland offers a state-backed guarantee of title to the person in whose favour the right has been registered. Registration compensation schemes offer protection to those transacting in land, which increases confidence in the register and in turn economic benefits. The right to property is protected by Article 1 of Protocol no. 1 to the European Convention of Human Rights and the provision by Registers of Scotland of safe, secure and efficient property transactions contributes to the Scottish Government’s National Outcome of having a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy.

    The duty on the Keeper to pay compensation is imposed by the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 and triggered only in limited circumstances as provided by the 2012 Act. The duty to pay compensation can come about in a variety of ways, for example, registration error, transactional error or loss arising from a change in the underlying legal position. Compensation is therefore not reliably indicative of human mistake. All compensation claims are rigorously assessed and evidenced before they are settled. Further information is provided in our annual compensation reports, published on our website.

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If you have a question or query about FOI requests, you can email the information governance team at: FOI.Requests@ros.gov.uk.