Society, Faculty greet Bonomy report

The Law Society of Scotland and Faculty of Advocates have both welcomed the publication of Lord Bonomy's report on the Post-corroboration Safeguards Review (click here for summary). 

Alistair Morris, President of the Society, described the report as "thorough and wide ranging", and commended Lord Bonomy and his review reference group for their work. "He has in fact gone further, in recommending measures which could improve the criminal justice system whether or not the corroboration requirement is abolished", Mr Morris said. 

“The report published today is an extensive piece of work and we are pleased to see that many of the concerns that the Law Society and others raised have been considered."

Regarding the right to legal advice at a police office Mr Morris commented: “The report also recognises that as many as three out of four suspects waive their right to legal assistance while detained at a police station. Lord Bonomy specifically recommends that Scottish ministers should abolish the requirement for some suspects to pay a contribution towards the cost of legal advice and assistance provided to them while they are in a police office. This would remove the possibility that a potential cost to the suspect is a factor in the low uptake of legal advice at this stage."

He added: “It is essential that we maintain a criminal justice system which is fair to both those accused of crime and those who are victims of crime and that every effort is made to minimise the possible risk of miscarriages of justice within our criminal courts. We await with interest Scottish Government’s response to the recommendations made and will continue to contribute to discussions on this important issue as it progresses.”

Also welcoming the publication of the report, the Faculty commented: "The proposal to abolish corroboration would fundamentally change our criminal justice system and the Faculty is pleased to see that a number of safeguards included its response to the consultation have been included as recommendations in the final report.

"These include the end of reliance on dock identification, the retention of corroboration in cases of confession and hearsay evidence, the recommendation that formal police interviews should be video-recorded and the recognition that a simple majority jury verdict is untenable in any post-corroboration system."