The Committee is currently considering the following public petitions
Petition PE1280
PE1280 by Julie Love and Dr Kenneth Faulds on amending the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 to require the holding of a fatal accident inquiry when a person from Scotland dies abroad.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 8 November 2011 and agreed to write to the Scottish Government requesting further details of when it intends to introduce legislation to amend the 1976 Act and to keep the petition open, pending the Scottish Government's response.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 10 January 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending the introduction of the relevant primary legislation and to consider, at a future meeting, a background paper on the Committee Bill Procedure.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending the introduction of legislation on fatal accident inquiries.
Petition PE1370
PE1370 by Dr Jim Swire, Professor Robert Black QC, Mr Robert Forrester, Father Patrick Keegans and Mr Iain McKie on behalf of Justice for Megrahi on opening an independent inquiry into the 2001 Kamp van Zeist conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 8 November 2011and agreed, by division (For 6, Against 3, Abstentions 0), to keep the petition open pending the outcome of Lord Carloway's review of Scottish criminal procedure and evidence and the Committee's consideration of forthcoming Scottish Government legislation concerning the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending a response from the Scottish Government to correspondence from Justice for Megrahi.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 11 December 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open while the petitioners continue to pursue issues with the Scottish Government, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.
On 2 April, Justice for Megrahi updated the Justice Committee on developments of their allegations of criminality in relation to the investigations of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Justice for Megrahi submitted a further report to the Justice Committee on 23 April after their meeting with Deputy Chief Constable Patrick Shearer. Links to the two documents are below.
Petition PE1427
PE1427 by Robert Kirkwood on behalf of Leith Links Residents' Association on implementing the Scottish Civil Courts Review recommendations on multi-party actions by making changes to existing protocols that will (1) encourage the Rules Council to use rule of court 2.2 for multi-party actions; (2) modify court fees to a single payment; (3) encourage the Rules Council to introduce a protocol on recovery of documents; (4) clarify the common law right of nuisance, and (5) introduce compulsory insurance.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending the introduction of primary legislation to implement Lord Gill's recommendations on multi-party actions.
Petition PE1436
PE1436 by Colette Barrie on passing new Criminal Justice System legislation which allows for the retrospective abolition of the corroboration requirement thus ensuring full access to justice for victims of crime.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending the introduction of primary legislation to implement Lord Carloway's recommendations, including on corroboration.
Petition PE1449
PE1449 by Dr John Wallace Hinton on behalf of Accountability Scotland on preserving an independent Scottish Administrative Justice Council when the UK AJTC system is abolished, ensuring the new body has a critical user-interface to enable base-roots input from the public and that it has complete independence from political or civil service influence.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open and to write to the Scottish Government seeking further details of (i) the functions of the non-statutory advisory committee; (ii) the timetable for its creation; and (iii) the timetable for producing and considering long-term options.
At its meeting on 6 November 2012, the Committee considered the petition again and agreed to wait for the further update from the Minister.