This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Noel Ruddle - A Statement from the Scottish Executive
04/08/1999
"Ministers could not have stopped the release of Noel Ruddle, and it is not the case that this judgement will necessarily result in the early release of people who might be a risk to the public. The law relating to new cases of this kind has already been changed and is being further examined by the Maclean Committee. Ministers have asked the Maclean Committee to accelerate its work, and they are considering what further steps may be necessary in order to safeguard the public.
Ministers cannot overturn the judgements of the courts just because they don't like them. The judgement was a very detailed one by an experienced sheriff. After considering very carefully the judgement and legal advice on its implications, Ministers concluded that an application for judicial review would not have delayed Mr Ruddle's release.
The problem here is not with the judgement, it is with the law itself. The point of law on which the Ruddle case turned was whether his condition was treatable. Mr Ruddle could not be detained because his condition was found to be untreatable. He therefore could not have been 'sectioned', since those powers are to allow a person to receive treatment for a mental disorder.
All such cases are considered on their merits. This judgement is very detailed and deals very specifically with Mr Ruddle's case. It will be for the courts to determine whether the very specific terms of the Ruddle judgement would apply in any future appeal. There is a handful of cases which have similar characteristics. None of them is currently the subject of an appeal, but Ministers continue to monitor them closely.
The law applying to new cases of this kind has already been changed so that the courts have a disposal (the hospital direction) which allows treatment for mental disorder to be combined with a prison sentence.
In January of this year, Ministers asked Lord Maclean to conduct an enquiry with a remit "to consider experience in Scotland and elsewhere and to make proposals for the sentencing disposals for, and the future management and treatment of serious sexual and violent offenders who may present a continuing danger to the public". In the light of the Ruddle judgement, Ministers have asked Lord Maclean to accelerate the work of his Committee. They are considering whether further steps may be necessary to safeguard the public.
The Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice, Jim Wallace, has offered to brief Opposition Parties on the steps which the Executive is taking. The First Minister remains closely in touch with this work.
News Release: SE0227/99
4 August, 1999