Justice Committee
concerned about administrative burdens placed on Scotland's Judiciary
Concerns about
aspects of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill have been
raised by the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee. Within
the report that does recommend Parliament agree to the general
principles of the bill, the committee expressed reservations about
the administrative and organisational responsibilities being
placed on the Lord President. The report also queries the proposal
regarding direct authority for the Scottish Court Service being
taken away from Scottish Ministers.
Committee Convener Bill Aitken MSP said:
"The Committee was unable to wholeheartedly support the
bill's provisions though it was content with the general
principles. There are concerns about the administrative burden
that could fall to the Lord President and indeed, given the powers
of delegation, to other judges.
"The committee noted and agreed with the Lord
President's view that sitting on the most important cases was
his priority. Nevertheless, the committee remains concerned that
there has not been an entirely independent assessment of the
impact that the bill might have on judicial time and for that
reason we seek further discussion around this issue.
"However, the committee welcomes many aspects of the bill.
For example, this bill sets out in statute for the first time in
Scotland, a guarantee of judicial independence; this is important
symbolically and sends out the right message. The committee also
welcomes putting the Judicial Appointments Board on a statutory
footing which will enable processes and procedures to be developed
and built upon."
The Justice committee has asked the Scottish Government to
provide independent quantifiable evidence about the impact the
Bill's proposals could have on judicial time. The committee
also remains unconvinced that a sufficient case has been made to
remove the Scottish Court Service from the direct authority of
Scottish Ministers. Further, the committee unanimously believes
that there should be a mandatory requirement for the Judiciary to
undertake training.
Background
The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill was
introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 30 January 2008 and
referred to the Justice Committee.
The Justice Committee
received written and oral evidence from a number of sources all of
which can be found on the Committee web page.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/justice/index.htm
The Stage 1 debate on the Bill is scheduled to take place on
Wednesday 14 May 2008.
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