Ministers abandon corroboration abolition provision

The controversial section that would have ended the corroboration rule in Scots criminal trials is to be dropped from the Scottish Government's Criminal Justice Bill.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson made the announcement to the Scottish Parliament yesterday in a statement on the report by Lord Bonomy, who proposed a series of safeguards that should be enacted  if the provision were to become law. (Click here for report.)

Mr Matheson said the Government believed further consideration of the "numerous and complex safeguards" suggested by Lord Bonomy's review group was needed. Referring to the issue of tackling domestic abuse and sexual crime, which prompted the original proposal, he said there was still a case for reform to the law, but acknowledged that currently there was no consensus on the removal of the corroboration requirement.

Originally recommended in a report on criminal procedure by Lord Justice Clerk Carloway in 2011, the proposal has been backed by the law officers, police and women's aid charities, but vigorously opposed by most of the legal profession, including other senior judges, given the potential for miscarriages of justice. It was robustly promoted by Mr Matheson's predecessor, Kenny MacAskill, who was accused of politicising the issue when Holyrood narrowly voted to retain the provision in the bill at stage 1 early last year – on the basis that it would not be brought into force until Lord Bonomy's recommendations were enacted. 

The Justice Secretary said the Government would look at Lord Bonomy's recommendations "as a package", alongside consideration of measures to improve access to justice for victims, including the corroboration requirement, but given the current lack of consensus, "it is clear to me that proceeding with the removal of the corroboration requirement in the Criminal Justice Bill would be neither appropriate nor feasible".

Alistair Morris, President of the Law Society of Scotland, said the Society "strongly welcomed" the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement. “The Minister is to be commended for listening to our concerns and the issues raised by many others involved in the criminal justice system", he stated. "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."

He added: “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 – 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.”

In a statement the Faculty of Advocates said it "welcomes the recognition by the Justice Secretary that the issues raised by the Bonomy report are of crucial importance to the administration of justice and require to be considered further".

It continued: "Any proposal to abolish the requirement for corroboration without further safeguards would leave Scots law at risk of miscarriages of justice.

"As the Justice Secretary has recognised, our system of justice must provide an appropriate balance between the rights of suspects, victims and witnesses.”