This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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McInnes report on legal system reform
16/03/2004
A report containing radical proposals
on the reform of how the justice system in Scotland deals
with less serious offences has been published today.
It recommends:
The creation of a single
unified summary court, managed by the Scottish
Court Service (currently the management of summary
courts is split between local authorities and the
Scottish Court Service)
An all professional
judiciary - consisting of Sheriffs and new 'Summary
Sheriffs' - both with identical sentencing powers
in summary cases
Considerably enhanced
sentencing powers to allow summary courts to impose
sentences of one year imprisonment and a maximum
£20,000 fine
The rationale for these changes,
produced after a two year review chaired by Sheriff
Principal John McInnes, was that they would deliver more
consistent and effective justice across Scotland allied
with greater accountability and a capacity to deal with
more serious business in the summary courts.
There was a divergence of view on the
future role of lay justices of the peace in the system - a
minority of the committee believing that they should be
retained.
At the launch for the report in
Edinburgh Sheriff Principal McInnes said:
"I believe that our recommendations,
taken as a whole, represent a good package of solutions to
the range of problems within the summary justice system in
Scotland. They represent a major step forward in creating a
modern, efficient summary justice system, suitable for
Scotland and its people.
"The emphasis is on
simple but effective processes which will retain and, I
hope, enhance the confidence of the public and take proper
account of the needs of victims and witnesses.
"Summary courts in Scotland deal with
over 130,000 proceedings every year and many of those we
consulted took the view that the system had become slow and
congested and needed urgent attention."
Summary criminal cases are the most
common form of criminal court case in Scotland, accounting
for 96 per cent of criminal court business.
They are heard by a Sheriff in the
Sheriff Court or by a bench of one or more lay justices
(or, in a few cases, a paid magistrate) in the District
Court.
The types of offence dealt with range from
minor breaches of the peace through to assaults and weapons
offences - and include nearly all road traffic offences. In
summary cases the judge sits without a jury and decides
questions of both law and fact.
The report also recommends a
considerable expansion of the use of alternatives to
prosecution - for example, the introduction of formal
police warnings and greater use by police of fixed penalty
notices and fiscal fines.
The introduction of a new fiscal
compensation order is also proposed - designed to ensure
that victims of offending behaviour can be directly
compensated by the perpetrator in appropriate
circumstances.
The report makes a number of recommendations
aimed at improving the collection and enforcement of fines.
It recommends that fines should be
administed by a single public sector organisation. Such an
organisation would have new enforcement powers relieving
police of their current role in enforcing means warrants -
freeing up police to carry out other duties.
It also makes a wide range of
recommendations to provide for more efficient handling of
cases which do require prosecution.
These recommendations are designed to
ensure:
Cases reach court more
quickly
Cases are prepared earlier
and more effectively by both prosecution and
defence
Those who will plead guilty
do so at the appropriate time
Trials are efficient,
requiring the attendance only of those witnesses
whose evidence is in contention
In November 2001, the then Minister
for Justice Jim Wallace announced the membership of a
Committee appointed to review summary justice in Scotland
under the chairmanship of Sheriff Principal John
McInnes.
The formal remit of the Committee
was:
"To review the provision of summary
justice in Scotland, including the structures and
procedures of the sheriff courts and district courts as
they relate to summary business and the inter-relation
between the two levels of court, and to make
recommendations for the more efficient and effective
delivery of summary justice in Scotland."
Two members of the committee (Sheriff Brian Lockhart
and Mrs HelenMurray JP) issued a note of dissent on the issue of lay
justices which is included in the report at Annex
A.
A consultation period of four months
has been set by the Executive,
seeking views from those involved in the
summary justice system and anyone with an interest - before
reaching a view on the recommendations contained in the
report.