Law Society and faculty are jointly intervening in the Supreme Court case

Three days of hearings took place in the High Court between October 21 and 23, during which two convictions for sexual offenses were challenged on the grounds that the trials breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Criminal convictions in Scotland cannot normally be appealed to the High Court. However, the court can hear appeals on ‘compatibility issues’, where there is a complaint that the trial has violated a suspect’s rights under the ECHR.

Laura Sharp, member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Law Committee, said: “These calls raise questions about the way evidence is excluded from sexual offenses trials in Scotland, and whether the system complies with the European Convention on Rights of Man.

“We have intervened together with our colleagues in the Faculty of Advocates because of the important principles at stake for Scotland’s criminal justice system. It is crucial that justice is not only done, but that it is seen to be done.

“We support measures to improve the experience of complainants in sexual offense cases, but as we said in our submission, such measures cannot come at the cost of systemic unfairness towards those accused.”

Dean of the Faculty Roddy Dunlop KC addressed the court last week about the joint statement, saying: “I emphasize the independence of the profession: from the Crown, from the defense and from the judiciary. The interest of the profession is to ensure, as far as possible, that the courts convict the guilty and acquit the innocent, dealing fairly with the parties.”