Lord Carloway announces workshops on Evidence and Procedure

The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Carloway, has launched a programme of workshops run by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to discuss methods to discover the truth in criminal trials in the modern era, and the greater use of pre-recorded evidence.

Lord Carloway outlined the thinking that informed the Evidence and Procedure Review Report at events in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Both events were attended by a diverse mix of interested parties that included representatives from the Scottish Government, COPFS, and Law Society, social work and domestic abuse and children’s organisations.

It was announced that there will be a programme of workshops, starting at the end of May, where there will be an opportunity to discuss the report’s findings on Children and Vulnerable Witnesses, and General Witness Statements.

In his speech Lord Carloway clarified that the “Review was a research exercise carried out internally by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service” and “is therefore not a fully developed, fully costed and evaluated set of policy proposals… Now is the time to start testing out the propositions in the report with those such as you who know and understand how the legal system works here in Scotland.”

The purpose of the events was to enable the Report’s propositions to be moulded and shaped into conclusions that will be presented later in the year to the Scottish Government to decide on what reforms it wishes to pursue.

There is keen interest in this review and support for the process proposed and issues have been raised both through the media and at the launch events. Lord Carloway, joined at the Edinburgh event by fellow member of the Review Group Lady Dorrian, addressed some of those issues at the events as follows:

Cross-examination

In respect of cross-examination, Lord Carloway made it very clear that the report does indeed look at the right of cross-examination, but in how it can be preserved and indeed used with more focus and to greater effectiveness. There will be workshop sessions focused on how best to ensure fairness in trial procedures where pre-recorded evidence is used.

Procedural Safeguards

Lord Carloway highlighted the need for “safety valves” to be put in place, for example if new evidence comes to light. For the benefit of the child or vulnerable adult in particular, it is important that in the main there are not numerous attempts at examination and cross-examination. However, it is just as important to ensure that there are the appropriate safeguards in place to allow further questioning if required. How this would work in practice is a key discussion for the workshops.

Training

There was backing for the Report’s emphasis on the importance of rigorous and appropriate training for practitioners involved in the questioning of children and vulnerable witnesses, and for the judiciary. Both Lord Carloway and Lady Dorrian highlighted the months of training required for police interviewers in Norway.

Historical Abuse

It was suggested that there may be cases, such as historical abuse cases, where there is a need to interview numerous times in order to ensure an accurate account of what happened. Lord Carloway accepted this, noting that in respect of abuse, the cases that the review addresses most directly are those where the incident is recent, fresh in the witness’ mind and where speed and efficiency are key to the recovery of the child or vulnerable adult. The workshops will need to look at what approach would work best in each scenario.

Other issues were also raised at the events, such as the effect of the potential reforms on the speed of trials and the rate of early guilty pleas and the scope for digitalising other forms of evidence such as documents and productions.

You can read Lord Carloway’s speech, which discusses the thinking underpinning the Review, the key propositions and the main principles going forward, in full through the link below. Also attached below is the announced schedule for the workshops, which are open to all those with an interest, on application to the email address below.

If you have any questions about this programme, would like to attend any of the launch events or subsequent workshops or would like to suggest further workshops or areas for discussion, please email the Review team at: evidenceandprocedurereview@scotcourts.gov.uk

Evidence and Procedure Review

Lord Carloway speech

Schedule of workshops