This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Reform of the justice system
14/02/2007
Proposals for a future Judiciary Bill were published today as part of the Executive's on-going work to reform Scotland's justice system.
The provisions of the draft Bill are outlined in the paper Proposals for a Judiciary (Scotland) Bill, which also contains further proposals to reform the judiciary's relationship with the Court Service.
The proposals build upon the consultation Strengthening Judicial Independence in a Modern Scotland, which was published last year. Comments are invited by April 30.
The draft Bill:
- introduces a statutory guarantee of continued independence for Scotland's judiciary, similar to provisions elsewhere in the UK
- places the Judicial Appointments Board on a statutory footing and clearly sets out its remit in statute
- strengthens the process for appointing the two most senior judicial posts, Lord President and Lord Justice Clerk, requiring the establishment of a panel to recommend suitable candidates to Ministers
- modernises the arrangements for removing judges and sheriffs from office on grounds of unfitness
- provides for the functions of the most senior judges to be carried out during their incapacity, suspension from office or when the office is vacant
- delivers greater transparency and consistency around the appointment of temporary judges, and introduces arrangements for the deployment of retired sheriffs to fill short-term gaps and ensure the smooth-running of court business
Other sections of the paper deal with:
- the role of the judiciary in the governance of the Scottish Court Service
- the unification of the judiciary under the Lord President
- giving the Lord President new powers and responsibilities for the training, welfare, deployment and conduct of the judiciary, and for the management of business in the courts
- establishing a scheme for dealing with complaints about judges' conduct overseen by the Lord President
- the eligibility of solicitors for appointment as a Court of Session judge
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"People in Scotland want a modern, responsive justice system. That's why we have introduced a raft of reforms to improve the handling of business in our courts, benefiting many victims, witnesses and jurors, while upholding the right to a fair trial for the accused.
"Given the key role that they play within that system, we believe that the legislative provisions and other arrangements relating to the judiciary must also reflect those challenges.
"First and foremost our proposed legislation strengthens the independence of the judiciary.
"However, we want to do more and our plans are set out in the second part of the paper that accompanies the draft Bill.
"We and the judges are discussing how to bring together our plans for the unification of the judiciary with the Lord President's proposal, during last year's consultation, to take a role in the governance of the Court Service.
"We want to hear views from all interested parties on this before reaching firm conclusions.
"Only once we have reached decisions on the Lord President's governance role, can we take a firm view on the legislation required to address the many practical issues that would flow from it.
"We will take account of all subsequent responses while finalising the draft Bill which we plan to have ready for any new administration to introduce into the Scottish Parliament.
"I believe this paper would provide options for action by a future administration in what is a vital area of our justice system."