Criminal Defence Lawyers Edinburgh

McSporrans criminal solicitors' latest news on all aspects of criminal & road traffic law.
McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Government closes legal loophole

The Criminal Cases (Punishment and Review) (Scotland) Act came into force on 24th September, and closed a legal loophole which arose following the Appeal Court's judgement in the case of Petch and Foye v. HMA. The loophole had meant that prisoners given a discretionary life sentence or Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) could apply to become eligible for parole earlier than those serving sentences of a fixed length.

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McSporrans Criminal Defence Lawyers

Criminal contributions to legal aid

The Law Society of Scotland has raised serious concerns over the detail of new legislation which introduces financial contributions for many of those receiving criminal legal aid.

Submitting its written evidence to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee, the Society said the threshold at which contributions would become payable was too low. It also argued that the Scottish Legal Aid Board rather than solicitors should collect the contributions to ensure a consistent system.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Bill was introduced in May this year. The legislation would establish a Civil Justice Council and introduce financial contributions for criminal legal aid for the first time.

The Society has consistently supported the principle of contributions in criminal legal aid but has raised a series of concerns over the detail of the Scottish Government's proposals.

Oliver Adair, the convener of the Society's legal aid negotiating team, said:

"We agree that people who can afford to pay a portion of the cost of their legal aid should do, provided they can afford it.

"However the Bill proposes that the threshold for determining whether a contribution is payable should be £68 disposable income a week. We do not believe that is a realistic amount from which to expect anybody to pay towards their legal costs.”

Administrator

Bribery Act implemented with a self-reporting initiative for businesses

Replacing the current common law and century-old statutory provisions regarding bribery and corruption, The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. Coinciding with the new legislation, the Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland QC, has approved an initiative making it possible for businesses to “self-report” bribery offences.

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