Manifesto sets out Society's priorities for next Holyrood session
A programme of action for the next Scottish Parliament, with access to justice and the legal sector's ability to support the Scottish economy at its head, has been released today by the Law Society of Scotland.
Five key policy areas are named in the Society's "priorities document" for action by the MSPs returned in May's elections. They are:
- Access to justice
- Modern legislation for a modern profession
- The legal profession at the heart of a thriving economy
- Access to education
- Law reform and quality of legislation
On access to justice, the Society is calling for an overhaul of the legal aid system to make it simpler and more efficient, with reinvestment of savings across the wider justice system into legal assistance expenditure. It also wants to see wider use of new technology in the justice system and the introduction of online dispute resolution for less complex disputes; and a full review of access to justice for young people, with improvements to the way children are treated in the justice system.
Legislation for the profession would deliver a replacement for the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980, which needs to be modernised for the huge changes that have taken place in the legal services market, including new business structures and advances in technology, and to better protect the public interest.
The Society is also urging all parties to continue supporting the international promotion of the Scottish legal sector and the expertise and services it offers, and to provide as much clarity as possible to businesses and taxpayers on how the further powers expected to be devolved under the Scotland Act 2012 will be used to encourage entrepreneurialism and innovation. Alongside this, it wants to see the removal of barriers that prevent people from fulfilling their potential, with measures to tackle the gender pay gap and support for those with young children.
Access to education would involve parties using the full extent of the devolved powers relating to equal opportunities; promoting measures to reduce the attainment gap in schools; making access to university fairer; and carrying out a review of postgraduate funding.
Under law reform and quality of legislation, the Society is calling for legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament since 1999 to be evaluated to establish how effective it is in practice. It welcomes the Standards, Procedures & Public Appointments Committee’s call for greater post-legislative scrutiny and believes the time is also right for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the laws passed since devolution.
It calls for politicians to commit to implementing at least two Scottish Law Commission bills in each session, and specifically for law reform action in the areas of adults with incapacity, charity law, family law particularly as it relates to cohabitees, and succession law.
Christine McLintock, the Society's President, commented: “It’s vital that the political parties continue to engage the electorate and harness the ongoing interest there is in how Scotland is governed.
“Good law is essential to good governance, but there has been little time for extensive scrutiny of law which has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. That’s why we have called for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the laws passed since the Parliament was established.
“Access to justice sits high among our priorities too. It’s essential that people can get the legal advice and services they need to enforce their rights and meet their responsibilities – regardless of their financial situation. We published a series of recommendations in 2015 and believe that they will help generate savings and ensure a properly funded legal aid system that will be sustainable over the long term."
She added: “Whatever the election outcome, there are important issues to tackle and decisions to take. We hope our priorities paper will contribute to the debate on what is important to people living and working in Scotland.”
Click here to access the document.