With Parliament back in session our policy team have had to hit the ground running covering the latest developments in potential legislation. They have already produced consultation responses on judicial review claimants and financial disclosure, and court and tribunal fees, as well as a briefing detailing suggested amendments to the on-going progress of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.
Judicial review claimants and financial disclosure consultation
JUSTICE and the Public Law Project (“PLP”) submitted a joint response to the Government’s recent consultation on the compulsory disclosure of financial information by claimants for judicial review and applicants for costs protection, pursuant to the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA).
Court and tribunal fee consultation
We responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation on introducing further fees in the courts and tribunals. Chief amongst our concerns are: a 10% uplift on all court fees in civil proceedings other than those already increased above cost; an increase to the maximum fees payable in civil claims, from £10,000 to at least £20,000 (potentially unlimited); and the doubling of fees in Immigration and Asylum.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill suggested amendments
The Bill follows extensive consultation over the past few years by the Government, through dedicated enquiries and Cabinet reviews and JUSTICE has responded to many of these in great detail. We agree that reform has been needed for some time to the arrest and detention procedure. The Bill allows the Scottish Parliament to focus on how the system might be improved. We set out in this briefing some suggested amendments to the proposed reforms.