Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

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The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is a non-departmental public body in Scotland and was established by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as amended by the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997).

The Commission has the statutory power to refer cases dealt with on indictment (ie solemn cases) to the High Court of Justiciary. This was extended to include summary cases by Statutory Instrument on 31 March 1999, immediately before the Commission took up its role in April 1999.

Though funded by the Scottish Executive Justice Department investigations are carried out independently of Scottish Ministers, with the Commission being accountable to the Scottish Parliament on matters of finance and administration.

Contents 1 Governance and administration 2 Lockerbie bombing 3 Role of the commission 3.1 Powers 3.2 Aims 4 Confidentiality and disclosure 5 Statistics 6 Budget and expenditure 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Governance and administration

The Commission is headed by Chief Executive, Gerard Sinclair, and staffed by a Director of Administration, 2 Senior Legal Officers, 10 Legal Officers and 3 admin support staff. Eight Legal Officers and one Senior Legal Officer are required to deal with the Commission's normal case load. In order to review the case of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Commission sought approval from the Scottish Executive Justice Department for the appointment of 2 additional Legal Officers and 1 Senior Legal Officer.

The SCCRC has a Board of Management of 7 members appointed by Her Majesty The Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister of Scotland. Its current members are:

• The Very Reverend Graham Forbes CBE, Chairman
• Miss Ruth Anderson QC
• Mr David Belfall
• Mr Graham Bell QC
• Professor Peter Duff
• Sir Gerald Gordon CBE QC
• Mr James Mackay QPM

By statute, at least one third of the Commission's members are required to be legally qualified (either an advocate or solicitor of at least 10 years' standing) and at least two thirds must have knowledge or experience of the criminal justice system. The Scottish Executive advertised five vacancies for appointment as Board members in October 2006 and invited applications from suitably qualified people.[1]Three of the vacancies are expected to be filled at the end of 2006 and the remaining two during the course of 2007.

The seven Board members and the Chief Executive are required to work together to ensure that the Commission runs efficiently and effectively.

[edit] Lockerbie bombing

Former SCCRC member, William Taylor QC, who acted as Senior Counsel for Megrahi at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and at his appeal, resigned as a Commissioner on September 23, 2003 the same day as the SCCRC received an application from solicitors acting on Megrahi's behalf, requesting that it review his conviction. Megrahi's appeal against his 27-year minimum jail sentence was scheduled to be heard in Edinburgh before a panel of five Judges on July 11, 2006. This July hearing was, however, postponed to allow the question of the venue for the appeal (Edinburgh or Camp Zeist, Netherlands) to be resolved.[2] On November 1, 2006 Megrahi was reported to have dropped his demand for the appeals against sentence and conviction to be held at Camp Zeist.[3]

[edit] Role of the commission

The SCCRC's role is to review and investigate cases where it is alleged that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred in relation to conviction, sentence or both. The Commission can only review and investigate cases where the conviction and sentence were imposed by a Scottish Court (the High Court, the Sheriff Court or the District Court), and when the appeal process has been exhausted.

[edit] Powers

The SCCRC can investigate both solemn and summary cases. It will conduct a thorough, independent and impartial review and investigation of all cases accepted for review. The Commission has wide-ranging powers of investigation. After the review has been completed the Commission will decide whether or not the case should be referred to the High Court. If it is decided to refer a case, the case will be heard and determined by the High Court of Justiciary as if it were a normal appeal.

[edit] Aims

The main aims of the Commission are:

• To ensure that all cases are dealt with efficiently and effectively;
• To deliver its services in ways appropriate to stakeholders' needs;
• To promote public understanding of the Commission's role;
• To enhance public confidence in the ability of the criminal justice system to cure miscarriages of justice.

[edit] Confidentiality and disclosure

The Commission operates under strict statutory non-disclosure provisions, and cannot disclose any information about individual cases. The Commission can disclose the fact that a case has been referred to the High Court but will not release any information regarding cases in which no referral has been made or in respect of cases under review.

[edit] Statistics

In 2003, the latest year for which full statistics are available, there were 130,600 criminal convictions in Scotland. Ninety-eight criminal cases were accepted by the SCCRC and, of these, just twelve were referred to the High Court for reconsideration. Chief Executive, Gerard Sinclair, says that normally the court rules about half the referrals to be a miscarriage of justice each year, which would equate in 2003 to roughly 0.005% of the total number of Scottish convictions. But, says Sinclair: "Even if it were just one wrongful conviction a year, that would still be one too many."

[edit] Budget and expenditure

The Scottish Executive Justice Department agreed an SCCRC budget of £1.3m for 2004-05. Expenditure by the Commission in the year ended March 31, 2005 totalled £1,199,398 of which £274,000 related to the review of Mr Megrahi's case.

[edit] References

The Scotsman, December 6, 2005, Steven Raeburn

[edit] External links

• Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
• Lockerbie bomb appeal lined up for summer (2006)