Race law interpretation called into account
13 Sep 05
Lawyers question broad interpretation of racially-aggravated offences
Legal and human rights experts have claimed that the interpretation of the laws regarding racially-aggravated offences is threatening the freedom of speech, according to the Herald today.
Recent cases have seen a number of people prosecuted for insulting other people on the basis of their nationality, such as the Lanarkshire councillor who swore at a Welsh constituent while using the word "boyo". However, it is claimed that the legislation, passed in 1998, was intended to decrease crimes associated with ethnic origins, rather than nationality.
Leading criminal QC Paul McBride said the law, created to deal with black or Asian people being abused on the streets, had resulted in people involved in relatively trifling circumstances being accused of racism and possibly banned from public sector jobs.
He said he did not see a problem with the legislation and that there was no doubt that ethnic minorities were being abused. However, he warned that if the law continues to be applied as it is at present, the interpretation of "racial" could be unnecessarily widened.
John Scott, chairman of the Scottish Human Rights Centre, said the law had to be robust enough so that it was objective when it came to the interpretation of these laws. There was a danger of creating artificial racial groups that did not actually exist.
The Lord Advocate, Colin Boyd has published guidelines for all Scottish police officers on what amounts to a racially aggravated crime. These guidelines are not available to the public.