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Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
01/07/2008
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission today announced the publication of its ninth annual report, covering the period from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.
The SCCRC was established in April 1999 to review alleged miscarriages of justice in Scottish criminal convictions and sentences independently of Government and the Crown.
The report set out the Commission main functions and performance over the reporting year, including the annual accounts. Additional information is provided on case statistics and the decision making process, as well as future plans.
The Commission's Chairman, The Very Rev Dr Graham Forbes CBE, said:
"The past year has again been an exceptionally busy and successful one for the Commission in the continuance of our role in investigating alleged miscarriages of justice and promoting public confidence in the criminal justice system.
"The level of new cases submitted to the Commission has returned to what we anticipate will be our normal level, and, with the conclusion of the Lockerbie case during 2007, we are seeking to improve upon our key targets in terms of processing and concluding case reviews.
"Our Annual Report for 2007-08 clearly sets out our achievements for the year as well as highlighting key statistics and trends in the review process. The Commission has now reviewed a total of 939 cases, and moving into our tenth year expect to receive and conclude the review of our 1,000th case.
"We continue to find that there has been no miscarriage of justice in the majority of cases we review, which is reassuring. For those cases we refer back to the High Court, the Commission has demonstrated the importance of its independent review in the attainment of justice."