Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill) Thank you for raising that important point. You are right to articulate the concerns that have been raised with the committee, and we have taken them on board. As a result of the European Union directive, we require to go in the direction that you outlined, but we are more than happy to discuss the ...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill Absolutely. I take that as read.
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill We think that they should not be lodged regularly, which is to some extent why the judiciary and the courts have to be involved. The issue is to get the right balance.
We might envisage a scenario in which there has been a gang fight and the accused is under the age of 16, but not signifi...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill I tend to think so. The ethos of the bill is to provide protection, and I think that we should try to provide such protection. As the convener said, we need to weigh in the scales of justice not only the rights of the victim but those of the accused. However, in the main we are here to provide prote...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill I do not think that we can go into specific details, unless Graham Ackerman can help me out. Alison McInnes’s point is quite valid: that situation would create uncertainty. However, we have to balance the right of the victim with the right of the accused. Such challenges will arise. Similar matters ...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill That is a high-level provision. I think that it relates to the EU directive. Clearly, we wish to engage with Victim Support Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis Scotland, as well as, in other matters, with those who represent the accused, such as the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill The whole ethos of Scots law is that we take the victim as we find him. In the legislation, the directives and protocols are laid down to deal with matters as best we can. That is why there are clear expectations for the Crown and the Scottish Court Service; that is how it should be. Equally, we mus...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill Obviously, the guidance from the Lord Advocate is a matter for the Lord Advocate. The police are quite right in saying that such information should be made available to the procurator fiscal, but clearly there are limitations on what individual officers are able to do, given their skills and resourc...
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill I will defer to Graham Ackerman on that, but I would have thought that, probably, yes, other than for spurious challenges. We would rely on the good sense of the judiciary on that.
Justice Committee 14 May 2013 : Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kenny MacAskill Equally, I can give you an assurance that I will liaise with Sheriff Tom Welsh of the Judicial Institute for Scotland to ensure that these matters are brought to the judiciary’s attention. I cannot think of a way that we could preclude such matters—as you say, we are not clairvoyant—but we rest on t...