News In Focus
9 December 2005
Lord Advocate attends Chinese conference
The Lord Advocate, Colin Boyd will today meet prosecutors from across Asia and Europe at the first Prosecutors General Conference in Shenzhen in China, as part of an ongoing programme of improving international understanding and co-operation in the investigation and prosecution of crime.
China is hosting the conference, which runs until Monday. Prosecutors and representatives from across the 39-nation Asia-Europe Meetings group are attending the conference and will discuss transnational crime issues, including drug trafficking and fraud.
Colin Boyd, who is chairing a session on co-operatively combating terrorism and progress on international legal co-operation, said: "Prosecutors can play a critical role in protecting the rights of individual citizens by providing oversight of investigations and ensuring the fairness of any subsequent court proceedings and, in particular, a fair trial of the accused.
"This conference also provides a welcome and timely opportunity for us to discuss our responses to trans-national crime and terrorism, as well as continuing to expand our channels of international co-operation."