Society questions efficiency plans for justice
25 May 06
Criminal Proceedings Bill reforms will not speed up cases, warns Society
The Law Society of Scotland has warned that the Scottish Executive's plans to make the criminal justice system more efficient will not make any difference to the speed with which cases are dealt.
Gerry Brown, convener of the Society's Criminal Law Committee, was speaking to Holyrood's Justice 1 Committee about the proposals set out in the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) Bill, which deals with summary justice. The Society also raised concerns about plans to hold trials in the absence of the accused.
Mr Brown said the Society was not sure how the bill was going to work in practice and that he did not think it would speed up the system or make it more efficient. He suggested that earlier disclosure of information from prosecutors would potentially allow defence solicitors to advise clients to plead guilty at intermediate diets before a case goes to trial.
"We have a Bill here that is well thought-out in many respects, but there seems to be a large amount of work going on in the background. The legs are paddling away furiously and we don't know what's going on below the surface", he said.
Appearing with Mr Brown, Glasgow solicitor Gerald Sinclair added: "There are pilots and tests which are going on which we've not seen the results of. Until we see that, we're not of the view that the present proposals identified in the Bill are going to make any major difference."
Mr Sinclair also explained the concerns over the proposal for a trial to go ahead if an accused fails to appear. He said any attempt to make the law more efficent must not compromise justice. It would not be possible to hold a trial within a trial to consider admissibility if the accused was not there.