Law Society welcomes decision to remove corroboration proposals from Criminal Justice Bill

Alistair Morris, president for the Law Society of Scotland, said: “We strongly welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement this afternoon on removing proposals to abolish corroboration from the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

“We consistently stated that the proposal to remove the corroboration requirement in criminal proceedings should be subject to a full review.  We also expressed concern about the speed of the process in our response to Lord Bonomy’s review consultation. Deferring this until the next parliamentary session will allow for further consideration of this complex area of law and further scrutiny of necessary safeguards within criminal proceedings.

“The Minister is to be commended for listening to our concerns and the issues raised by many others involved in the criminal justice system.  We now look forward to continuing to work with the Scottish Government and others in developing a criminal justice system in Scotland which is properly balanced and gives due regard to the interests of those facing criminal charges, victims of crime and to wider society.

“There remain some elements of the Bonomy report on which the Scottish Government could take early action.  For example, Lord Bonomy recommended abolishing the requirement for some suspects to pay a contribution towards the cost of legal advice and assistance at a police office is something which would remove the possibility that a potential cost to the suspect is a factor in the low uptake of legal advice.  This is one important reform which could potentially be progressed at an earlier stage.”

For the Law Society's earlier comment on Lord Bonomy's post-corroboration safeguards report please see the Law Society website: /news/2015/04/society-welcomes-publication-of-post-corroboration-safeguards-report/

ENDS   

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Val McEwan on 0131 226 8884 / 07825 206468 or Sarah Sutton on 0131 476 8170. Email: valeriemcewan@lawscot.org.uk / sarahsutton@lawscot.org.uk