- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has concerning the application of minimum procedural standards throughout the European Union in relation to the European arrest warrant in order to inform its own practice.
Answer
None. We understand that the European Commission is undertaking a review of procedural safeguards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings, that the review is continuing, and that it is the intention of the Commission to issue a green paper on the subject sometime in the new year.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 January 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has received on the European Union Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between member states with regard to its implementation in Scots law and the powers it has with regard to the implementation of the decision.
Answer
We have been advised that the subject matter of the framework decision is reserved. Its implementation is therefore a matter entirely for the UK Government.I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32291 on 16 December 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 23 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, what consideration it has given, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill in respect of the European arrest warrant, to the decision of the English High Court of Justice in R ex parte Ramda v Secretary of State for the Home Department (27 June 2002) in which the court stated that since the European Court of Human Rights is not a court of appeal and there is no recourse to it as of right, the Home Secretary was not justified in relying on the European court to correct any eventual failure on the part of a foreign country to accord a fair trial to a person extradited to that country.
Answer
Clause 21 of the bill makes it clear that before the sheriff can make a decision ordering the person's extradition, he must be satisfied that the extradition would be compatible the person's Convention rights, including the article 6 right to a fair trial.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 19 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received about the procedure by which a publisher in Scotland would be able to seek to contest an order made under clause 59(3) or 69(3) of the Criminal Justice Bill on the grounds of too great a restriction on reporting.
Answer
The legislation does not specify who may make an application contesting the extent of the restriction and so it will be open to the media as well as a party to the case to submit an application to the court.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 19 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans it has to support fishing communities in the event of a ban on cod fishing.
Answer
The Executive remains committed to ensuring a viable future for the communities that depend on the Scottish fishing industry and we will not agree to a ban on cod fishing. In the context of the cuts that are being proposed, the Executive would have a key role in dealing with their wider economic impact. For example, each local enterprise company has a remit to support business and skills development in order to strengthen local economies.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 18 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice, legal or otherwise, it seeks before seeking the agreement of the Scottish Parliament, through a Sewel motion, to the UK Parliament legislating for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive determines, in all the circumstances of the case, whether it is appropriate to seek the agreement of the Scottish Parliament by means of a Sewel motion to the UK Parliament legislating for Scotland on devolved matters.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, whether, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill, its officials played a role in drafting clauses 7(6), 76(2), 83(7) and 85(7) and, if so, what specific work they carried out on these clauses.
Answer
Executive officials considered the provisions in clauses 7, 76, 83 and 85 for England and Wales and, given that the bill provides for a legislative framework which should, so far as is possible, provide consistent law throughout the UK, instructed provisions that were comparable for Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, whether, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill, it sought to postpone bringing into force the clauses of the bill relating to implementation of the European arrest warrant until common standards with regard to the presumption of innocence have been adopted across the European Union and common standards with regard to the (a) right to legal advice and representation, (b) rules of evidence and (c) practice of custodial remands have been established and applied across the countries to which the European arrest warrant applies and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
The question of postponing the bringing into force of any part of the Extradition Bill for any reason is a policy issue for the UK Government given that the bill relates to a reserved matter.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, what steps it has taken, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill, to ensure protections equivalent to the 110-day rule or the English writ of habeas corpus in trials of persons arrested using the European arrest warrant procedure.
Answer
None. I would refer the member to the provisions of the Council of the European Union Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant (EAW) about time limits and procedures for the execution of the EAW which are being implemented by means of the Extradition Bill. These provide for a timescale of a maximum 70 days, or exceptionally 100 days, from arrest to surrender. Where a fugitive consents to his return the timescale will be much shorter.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has had concerning the protection of the human rights of suspects arrested under a European arrest warrant.
Answer
No such representations have been received.
