Scotlands top law officer has been criticised over a rethink on plans to abolish the law on corroboration. <\/p>\n
The Scottish Government wanted to drop the need for evidence from at least two sources in a bid to boost low conviction rates for crimes such as rape and domestic abuse. <\/p>\n
But ministers were forced to shelve those plans over concerns that a basic safeguard of Scots law would be lost, leading to miscarriages of justice. <\/p>\n
However, Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said in an interview yesterday that abolishing corroboration was something that we will come back to. <\/p>\n
Wolffe, who was appointed last year, said: Lord Bonomy identified a range of things which ought to be put in place if we abolish corroboration. <\/p>\n
They included changing the majority for a guilty verdict in a jury, giving the judge the power to withdraw a case from a jury if the evidence was not properly conveyed and a range of other measures. <\/p>\n
Theres further work to be done by way of research but I suspect we will come back to the debate, which might include the abolition of corroboration, so long as the system as a whole is robust. <\/p>\n
I think we should come back to that debate at an appropriate point. <\/p>\n
But Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Douglas Ross said: The weight of expert legal opinion is in favour of keeping corroboration, and any attempts to scrap it will only serve to damage our justice system. <\/p>\n
Scottish Labour said: Justice Secretary Michael Matheson must stick to his decision and not bring this proposal back to parliament. <\/p>\n
Almost 2000 people reported rapes or attempted rapes to the police in Scotland in 2015. Just 270 reached court and 125 were convicted. <\/p>\n
Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland said: The requirement for corroboration in Scots law has a disproportionate impact on rape cases because they often take place in private and it can be difficult to find corroboration. <\/p>\n
Only a very small proportion of rapes reported to the police ever make it to court, and by far the most common reason given is lack of corroboration. <\/p>\n
The Scottish Government said: Future consideration of reform needs to await the findings of research. <\/p>\n
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Legal chiefs slammed over plans to reform rape corroboration law - Scottish Daily Record<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scotlands top law officer has been criticised over a rethink on plans to abolish the law on corroboration. Continue reading