UK SUPREME COURT ROLE SUPPORTED BY MAJOR SCOTTSH LEGAL BODIES
Scotland’s main independent legal bodies have again clearly endorsed the UK Supreme Court retaining a role in determining human rights and European law issues arising in Scottish criminal cases according to consultation responses released today.
Responding to consultation by the Advocate General Lord Wallace QC, today the Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland, the Scottish Human Rights Commission and Justice all support a continuing role for the UK Supreme Court describing it as:
‘sensible and proportionate’
‘best placed to provide consistent, authoritative interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights’,
‘vital in order to ensure equal levels of human rights protection across the jurisdictions’
The only respondents who wanted to see the Supreme Court role removed were Scottish Ministers.
The consultation was on the wording of clauses that had been drafted to implement the findings of the Expert Group appointed by the Advocate General in September 2010 to consider the working of Section 57(2) and Schedule 6 of the Scotland Act 1998 in relation to the role of the Lord Advocate as head of the system of criminal prosecution in Scotland.
That Group (which included Sir David Edward, a former judge of the European Court of Justice, Lord Boyd, a former Lord Advocate, Paul McBride QC, Frances McMenamin QC and Professor Tom Mullen) concluded, unanimously, that there should be a continuing role for the Supreme Court in relation to devolution issues from Scottish criminal cases. Others – including the Law Society of Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates, the Scottish Human Rights Commission and Justice – all agreed with that conclusion.
The same groups have now endorsed the drafting of the clauses implementing the Expert group report.
Publishing a summary of the consultation responses, Lord Wallace said:
‘There has been much debate in recent weeks about the role of the UK Supreme Court. It is encouraging that eminent Scottish legal bodies such as the Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland strongly support a continuing role for the Supreme Court in human rights and EU law cases.
‘In the light of these responses Ministers will now reflect on how to proceed in relation to the Scotland Bill currently going through the UK Parliament.
‘The Scottish Government has also established their own group to look at the issues that our Expert Group has already considered. We have passed on the original evidence our Expert Group received and we will make sure these further consultation responses also reach the new Scottish Government group.
‘When Lord McLuskey’s Group starts to take evidence from these respected Scottish legal bodies I am sure they will be faced with the same, strong body of evidence that we have already received.’
The consultation responses and a summary are available at