Smith Welcomes Law Commission Study

21/11/07

Edinburgh West MSP Margaret Smith has broadly welcomed a request from the Scottish Government to the Law Commission of Scotland to review various aspects of the law in the light of the controversy surrounding the ending of the “World’s End” murder trial.

Amongst the issues the Law Commission will investigate are:

Judicial rulings that can bring a solemn case to an end without the verdict of a jury, and rights of appeal against such;

The principle of double jeopardy, and whether there should be exceptions to it;

Admissibility of evidence of bad character or of previous convictions, and of similar fact evidence.

Commenting, Ms Smith said:

“I recognise the concern of the public about our current legal practices given the way the trial for the World's End murders ended in September. This trail raised many complex questions about current legal practices in Scotland.

“I have every confidence in the Law Commission of Scotland, and I believe that they will look very seriously at all the implications of any change to how we manage criminal trials.

“The complexity of the issues raised by this case and the far-reaching implications for our judicial process mean that a cool-headed, objective study is the best way to proceed.”