New Lord President calls survival of 140 day rule into question

The Right Honourable Lord Carloway, who was installed as the new Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session today, has brought into question the survival of the “jewel in the crown” of Scots law – the 140 day rule – describing it as a “narrow window”.

In November last year, Scottish Legal News revealed that the rule is being routinely flouted – with practitioners expressing frustration and dismay with how the system works in practice. But the Lord President has today questioned whether the rule is sustainable in an “era of statutory disclosure, scientific analysis of DNA findings and the recovery and detailed scrutiny of text and email messaging”.

In a speech at Parliament House, he first thanked all those who have supported him over the past seven months, saying: “This was an invaluable resource during a period of some uncertainty” before going on to discuss the effects of last year’s reforms, including the inception of the Sheriff Appeal Court, whose civil jurisdiction has now begun.

Addressing the 140 day rule, which provides that accused persons in solemn cases must face trial within that period, the Lord President said: “There has been concern expressed about the extension of time limits, not for the Crown bringing cases into court at a first diet or preliminary hearing, but thereafter for the court to allocate the case for trial within the current programming constraints.”

He added: “The issue for the future will be whether, in the era of statutory disclosure, scientific analysis of DNA findings and the recovery and detailed scrutiny of text and email messaging, the narrow window allowed by statute for the commencement of a trial is sustainable or in accord with modern principles of fairness or justice.”