Legislation / Legal
ScotGov: The UK Supreme Court has decided that one aspect of criminal procedure in Scotland is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgement - which does not permit closed cases to be reopened and as such will not be retrospective - will prompt swift action from the Scottish Government that has been planned for months.
Responding to the decision of the Supreme Court in relation to the Cadder case, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "We are concerned that the current devolution arrangements have created an anomaly that seems to put Scottish law at a disadvantage in comparison to elsewhere in the EU. I want to see steps taken to address this anomaly. But we cannot ignore the Supreme Court's decision”.
CO: The Public Bodies Bill, which will ensure the necessary legal framework is in place for the Government to carry out its public bodies reforms, has been published in Parliament. It is necessary because some bodies that are due to be reformed were set up in legislation, so new powers are needed to be able to abolish or merge them, transfer or devolve their functions, or reform the way they operate.
