Chamber and committees

Thank you. I will open up questions to members.

We move to our next panel, and I welcome to the meeting David Fraser, executive director, and Danielle McLaughlin, head of the Lord Justice Clerk’s review, from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. I intend to allow about 40 minutes for this session.

I will open with a general question, and it will come as no surprise that it is about the proposal for a specialist sexual offences court, on which we have already taken quite substantial evidence from the Lord Advocate and Lady Dorrian. Given that the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has expressed support for the creation of a sexual offences court, will you outline what, in your view, would be the main benefits of such a court as well as some of the challenges that could be faced?

That was helpful.

Mr Fraser, we asked the Lord Advocate and Lady Dorrian about putting in place a specialist approach in the existing court structure, so, in the spirit of consistency, I note that early in your contribution, you articulated the fact that the current system has two tiers. We have heard it argued that the current system should become more specialised instead of our going to the bother of creating a bespoke court. Is there anything further that you would like to add on that point?

On that note, we are running out of time, so I thank our witnesses for attending. The session has been helpful. That completes this agenda item.

I remind members that we are meeting again tomorrow at lunch time to look at the management of transgender prisoners and two related Scottish statutory instruments.

Next week, we will return to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill with evidence from survivors of sexual offences cases and then from victims and survivors organisations. I am sure that it will be a powerful and important session, and I pay tribute in advance to those who will attend. We now move into private session.

Good morning, and welcome to the first meeting in 2024 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have no apologies this morning and our first item of business is an evidence session on the work of the review into improving the management of sexual offences cases in Scotland.

We are pleased to be joined today by Lady Dorrian, Lord Justice Clerk and Senator of the College of Justice. I refer members to papers 1 to 3. Lady Dorrian chaired the review that produced a report on improving the management of sexual offences cases. It is fair to say that the ideas in her report underpin many of the provisions of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, on which the committee is currently taking stage 1 evidence. We are pleased that Lady Dorrian is joining us this morning to speak about her report. I intend to allow up to 75 minutes for this session.

I invite Lady Dorrian to make a short opening statement.

I will squeeze in one final question very quickly.

Thank you, Lord Advocate.

To follow on from the final point that you made, on specialism across the court system, we asked Lady Dorrian about the option whereby benefits that are similar to those of a bespoke sexual offences court could be delivered through the existing court structure. Lady Dorrian set out her thinking on that and the findings of the review. What are your views on the notion of having a bespoke sexual offences court as opposed to an arrangement within the existing court structure?

Thank you. I do not know whether you would like to come in on that question, Danielle McLaughlin.

I will come in on that to provide a wee bit of clarification. We have quickly looked at the policy memorandum for the bill. Paragraph 282 says:

“For the avoidance of doubt, the decision as to whether any individual case, including those involving rape or murder, is to be prosecuted in the Sexual Offences Court, will be a decision for independent prosecutors acting on behalf of the Lord Advocate. The Bill permits, rather than requires”—

We have quite a bit to get through and we are half an hour in already, so I ask for fairly succinct answers, Lady Dorrian.

I will bring in Sharon Dowey and then Rona Mackay.