Any reforms must have the buy-in of the sector.’ Scottish Tory justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘Lord Uist has delivered the latest damning verdict on the SNP’s plans for juryless trials from within the legal sector. Consideration should be given to removing them from the Bill.’ Referring to both proposals, Lord Uist wrote: ‘It is shocking that they were ever included in the Bill. The former judge attacked the power the Bill provides for the Lord President to dismiss judges from the proposed Sexual Offences Court – without giving a reason. Any reforms must have the buy-in of the sector’ Greene said: ‘Lord Uist has delivered the latest damning verdict on the SNP’s plans for juryless trials from within the legal sector. Pictured: Scottish Tory justice spokesman Jamie Greene (file photo). He added: ‘A court with a limited lifespan working under such constraints could not be considered an independent tribunal within the meaning of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.’
Lord Uist said the SNP Government had said the ‘main purpose of the review is to consider whether the work of the court has been acceptable to the executive in the percentage of convictions returned by it’. This amounts to politicians treating the courts as forensic laboratories in which to experiment with their policies.’ Writing in Scottish Legal News, Lord Uist said: ‘The work of the pilot courts is to be subject to review by the executive and a report of that review is to be submitted to the legislature. Lord Uist warned that the proposals – published by Justice Secretary Angela Constance last week – were a ‘serious attack upon the independence of the judiciary’.Ī new Bill proposes a pilot scheme of juryless rape trials as part of changes aimed at driving up the conviction rate, including abolishing the not proven verdict. Plans for juryless rape trials and moves to allow judges to be summarily sacked are ‘repugnant’ and potentially unlawful, a former judge has said.
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