Cadder ECHR ruling: Cases already being thrown out of court but full scale consequences yet to become clear

The controversial ruling of the UK Supreme Court in the Cadder vs. HMA case has resulted in Ayr Sheriff Court having thrown out at least twenty court cases already. The full scale consequences of the ruling have yet to become clear, but it spells trouble for Scotland's embattled justice system.


John Lamont MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, said:

"We are starting to see the devastating effect this ruling will have on the Scottish justice system. Our conviction rate is suffering as self-confessed criminals are being allowed to walk free, and it will only get worse as closed cases are referred back to the High Court for reconsideration.

"This will come at a high cost not only to the public purse but to the balance of the Scottish Justice system, which is now heavily tipped in favour of the criminal. While the Lord Advocate has performed admirably in her protection of Scottish Criminal law, this change was made inevitable by the incorporation of European Convention of Human Rights into the 1998 Scotland Act.

"If we are to wrestle back control of our system we must launch a review into the whole operation of ECHR. Most urgently however, we need to build up a fuller picture of how many cases are being thrown out in courts across Scotland, because the last thing anyone wants to see are criminals skipping trial altogether and returning to the streets.

"We cannot wait until after the next election to act, action is needed now."

As of last week, Ayr Sheriff Court has thrown out at least twenty cases following the ruling. A further fourteen were continued for further investigation and could still be thrown out.

http://www.ayrshirepost.net/ayrshire-news/local-news-ayrshire/ayr-news/2010/11/05/self-confessed-criminal-s-cases-dropped-at-ayr-sheriff-court-after-law-change-102545-27592454/

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