Hate Crime And Public Order (Scotland) Bill

The Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland have welcomed the Scottish government's proposed changes to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, made in Parliament yesterday. The proposed amendments, if agreed to by Parliament, would mean a conviction for new offences of "s

Holyrood's Justice Committee has announced its timetable for parliamentary scrutiny of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. The committee intends to start hearing oral evidence from witnesses in late October, with a view to completing its stage 1 report by 18 December 2020.

The excessive breadth of the Scottish government's proposed hate crime legislation means it could criminalise social media posts and result in a large number of prosecutions, the Faculty of Advocates has warned. In its 35-page response, the Faculty states that it is not opposed to and indeed support

​There are major flaws in proposed hate crime legislation, according to the Law Society of Scotland. In its submission to the Scottish government’s call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, the Law Society has said there were flaws which could prevent the bill from a