« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
REPORT OF THE SUMMARY JUSTICE REVIEW COMMITTEE: SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO THE WRITTEN CONSULTATION - FINAL REPORT
CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND
1.1 In September 2001, the then Minister for Justice announced proposals to review the provision of summary justice in Scotland. This followed on from a previous statement from the then Deputy Minister for Justice that the Scottish Executive intended to issue a consultation paper on the future of the district courts in Scotland. Once preparation had commenced on the consultation paper it became clear that focusing solely on the district courts would be too restrictive and the review was expanded to take in summary justice generally (the district courts and non-jury criminal cases in the sheriff courts).
1.2 To take this forward, the Summary Justice Review Committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Sheriff Principal John McInnes. The 'McInnes Committee' remit was:
"to review the provision of summary justice in Scotland, including the structures and procedures of the Sheriff Courts and District Courts as they relate to summary business and the inter-relation between the two levels of court, and to make recommendations for the more efficient and effective delivery of summary justice in Scotland."
1.3 Consultation has been a key feature of the Committee's approach. In 2002, the Committee examined key philosophical questions by means of a paper-based consultation exercise. Respondents to the consultation comprised largely professional criminal justice stakeholders. In 2003 it held a series of three events at which summary justice practitioners could discuss a number of technical proposals being considered by the Committee. The Committee also wished to ascertain the views of the public on a variety of issues relating to summary justice and to this end commissioned a large-scale public survey that was conducted in January and February 2003.
1.4 The committee commenced its work in November 2001. The 'McInnes Report' was published on 16 March 2004. The report addressed and made recommendations on a number of significant issues, including the structure of the summary justice system and the procedures to be followed in the summary courts. Before the Executive reached any decisions on what action to take on the recommendations made in the Report, it was agreed that a period of consultation would be held to obtain the views of organisations with an involvement or interest in the criminal justice system, as well as the public generally. A four month period of open consultation followed publication of the report.
1.5 As part of this consultation, written responses were invited to the Report, with a closing date of 16 July 2004.
1.6 A total of 240 responses were received and analysed and a wealth of information provided. The main issues raised in the responses are summarised in this report, which is in a number of sections.
1.7 This chapter provides a brief introduction and background to the written consultation process. The actual process, methods of analysis and details of respondents are detailed in Chapter two. Chapters three to twelve then detail the main findings from the written responses, and the final chapter summarises these findings.
« Previous | Contents | Next »