Modernisation bill a positive step for criminal justice in Scotland

The Law Society of Scotland supports proposed changes to modernise criminal justice procedures, but says such reforms must be accompanied by increased funding for the criminal justice system.

The professional body for Scottish solicitors has provided written evidence on Part 1 of the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill.

The Bill proposes a number of changes for criminal court proceedings, including some that have been in operation on a temporary basis since the Covid-19 pandemic.

These cover areas such as electronic signing of documents, virtual attendance in court, digital reproduction of evidence, the status of digital documents, and where sheriff court matters should appear in the first instance.

The Convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Law Committee, Stuart Munro, said: “We support any changes to our criminal justice system that make it more efficient or improve the experience of people interacting with the system.

“Many of the proposals in this Bill have been in place on a temporary basis for some years now. They’ve had a positive impact and we would support them becoming permanent fixtures in the criminal justice system.

“We do have some minor reservations. For example, while we support the permanent implementation of national jurisdiction for callings from custody, we believe that a local sheriff will be a better option whenever this is possible.

“The measures in this bill are generally positive, but they will not change the fact that our criminal justice system remains under pressure that is unsustainable. Investment is urgently needed in a number of areas including legal aid.”

Mr Munro will provide oral evidence on the Bill tomorrow before the Scottish Parliament's Criminal Justice Committee, alongside the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association and the Edinburgh Bar Association.