Corroboration abolition removed from Bill

21 Apr 2015 03:35 PM

Complexity of recommendations mean further consideration needed.

The Scottish Government will not proceed with the proposal to end the requirement for corroboration in criminal trials in Scotland during the current Parliament.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson announced his decision in a Ministerial statement yesterday following the publication of an independent report by Lord Bonomy’s Post-corroboration Safeguards Review group.

The report contains a significant number of recommendations designed to strengthen safeguards should the requirement for corroboration be abolished. The Scottish Government believes further consideration of the numerous and complex safeguards suggested by the Group is needed and, as such, will be removing the proposals from the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

In his statement, Mr Matheson highlighted the important reasoning behind the proposal to remove the corroboration requirement, notably tackling domestic abuse and sexual crime, and said there was still a case for reform to the law, but acknowledged that currently there was no consensus across the board on the removal of the corroboration requirement.

Speaking after his statement to the Scottish Parliament, the Justice Secretary said:

“The issues that Lord Bonomy has raised are of crucial importance, and I want to make sure we take the time to consider them fully. The Scottish Government will look at Lord Bonomy’s detailed recommendations as a package, alongside consideration of measures to improve access to justice for victims including the corroboration requirement itself. We all recognise the added difficulties of prosecuting crimes committed in private, and we all share the belief that victims of crime deserve access to justice. Despite this, it has not been possible to build a consensus around the corroboration rule at this time.

“On that basis, it is clear to me that proceeding with the removal of the corroboration requirement in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill would be neither appropriate nor feasible.

“Our justice system must provide the appropriate balance, so that the rights of suspects, victims and witnesses all get the protections they deserve. It must, as far as possible, be fair to all.

“The original motivation behind examining the general requirement for corroboration was to improve access to justice for victims of crimes committed in private, including domestic abuse, rape and sexual offences, and this Government’s absolute dedication to protecting vulnerable people has not changed. That is why I want to take a holistic approach and look at these issues in the round.

“Only a few weeks ago, the First Minister announced funding of £20m over three years which will speed up the processing of cases through the courts, support victims, and tackle the behaviour of perpetrators to stop reoffending. The funding has been widely welcomed by victims’ organisations, and we will continue to work with them to support victims of crime.

“There is no doubt that access to justice is improving. Despite overall falls in crime, more cases involving crimes such as sexual offences and domestic abuse are reaching our courts. During 2013/14 alone there was a 50 per cent increase in the number of cases involving domestic abuse being sent to court and the number of convictions for sexual offences, rape and sexual assault increased by 20 per cent.

“We are also protecting victims by strengthening laws. We have extended the rights of vulnerable witnesses through the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 and we are currently consulting on a specific offence to tackle domestic abuse and measures to tackle sexual offences.

“In addition, this Government will continue to work with victims organisations to ensure we do all we can to protect victims’ rights, improve access to justice, and continue to tackle the scourge of sexual and private space violence in Scotland.”

Notes To Editors

A copy of the Justice Secretary’s Ministerial statement is available HERE.

Further details on the £20 million package to tackle domestic abuse can be found HERE.