Legal system faces shakeup in Executive programme

Major bills promised to change the way the profession operates

News, 7 September 2005

Summary justice, legal aid, judicial appointments and the oversight of the solicitors' profession itself all feature in the legislative programme announced by the First Minister yesterday.

The Executive hopes to bring a further 19 bills before the Scottish Parliament in time to secure their passage before the May 2007 elections. Those most directly affecting the legal profession are:
- Legal Assistance and Legal Profession, the content of which has still to be determined pending analysis of consultation responses, but which is likely to include more flexible means of providing legal advice and assistance, as well as reforms to the system for handling complaints against practising lawyers and to the Law Society of Scotland's disciplinary powers;
- Summary Justice Reform, to implement proposals of the McInnes Committee, but reforming rather than replacing the lay justice role in the summary criminal courts;
- Judicial Appointments and Removal, to put the Judicial Appointments Board on a statutory footing and set out arrangements for removal of a judge on grounds of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour;
- Sentencing, to take forward the work of the Sentencing Commission on the release and supervision of prisoners, and deal with issues such as kerb crawling, violent pornography and hate crime.

Law reforming bills will modernise adoption law, remedy defects in the Adults with Incapacity Act, reform the children's hearing system, update the bankruptcy and diligence codes, reform the planning system and enhance crofters' rights.

Other measures will cover local government registration services, tourism, promotion of transport works, animal welfare, fisheries, health promotion in schools and a separate bill increasing parental involvement in schools, and a Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice Bill containing a miscellany of provisions dealing with police services and powers, football grounds, drug testing, knife crime, and parades.

Commenting on the proposals, Law Society of Scotland President Caroline Flanagan said that the Society was committed to assisting the Executive and parliament to improve the way that the law works. She added:

"There has been substantial change in Scotland's legal system with more to come. It's important that new legislation is allowed to bed in and that the change is integrated to ensure that the parliament's work has the positive effect intended. It's essential for everyone to understand the law and it needs to be as clear as possible."

Welcoming the parliament's commitment to finding Scottish solutions to Scottish issues, she said the Society awaited the outcome of he recent consultations with interest.

"The Society will continue to support the Scottish Parliament in its work to reform the law effectively in the interests of everyone in Scotland", she concluded.