Commission to look at judicial rulings

Ministers call for Law Commission review in aftermath of "World's End" case

News, 21 November 2007

Scottish ministers have commissioned a series of studies from the Scottish Law Commission aimed at ensuring an appropriate balance between the rights of the accused and the ability of the Crown to prosecute in the public interest.

The Commission is to look at:

judicial rulings that can bring a solemn case to an end without the verdict of a jury, and rights of appeal against such;
the principle of double jeopardy, and whether there should be exceptions to it;
admissibility of evidence of bad character or of previous convictions, and of similar fact evidence;
the "Moorov" doctrine, under which allegations against an accused by different complainers speaking to different, but similar, offences can corroborate each other.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "Questions around Crown appeal rights, double jeopardy and previous convictions, though not new, were raised again after the trial for the 'World's End' murders in September.

"We made it clear that we would reflect seriously and thoroughly on the balance between the rights of the accused and the ability of the Crown to prosecute in the public interest.

"It is no threat to our justice system to reappraise historic principles such as double jeopardy. It is to ensure that our law remains fit for purpose in the modern age."

In the "World's End" trial Angus Sinclair, charged with murdering two teenagers in 1977, was controversially acquitted by the trial judge, Lord Clarke, at the conclusion of the Crown case. The decision led to a statement by the Lord Advocate to the Scottish Parliament about the Crown's handling of the case, which in turn resulted in a public disagreement between the Lord Advocate and Lord Justice General over implied criticism of the judge.

The commission is to report its findings on judicial rulings and appeal rights to the Scottish Governemt by the summer of 2008, along with its recommendations for reform. It will report on double jeopardy as early as possible in 2009 and the remaining phases of the study will follow later.