Hansard

The Convener SNP

Agenda item 3 is consideration of correspondence with regard to European Union priorities. We have from the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs t...

Roderick Campbell SNP

I—

The Convener SNP

I have more to say—I am going to build your part up. As our EU reporter, would you like to highlight any particular issues in paper 3 and suggest a course of...

Roderick Campbell SNP

The paper and the minister’s comprehensive letter say it all, but I wish to make a couple of points. Obviously, work on human rights is going on in the Parl...

John Finnie Ind

The paper is excellent, and I am grateful to the minister for all the information that he has provided. What I found particularly helpful and interesting was...

The Convener SNP

The migration issue has been one of the European Union’s biggest tests to date, and it has failed it. Migration is not at the top of the media’s list of issu...

Roderick Campbell SNP

The European and External Relations Committee has done some work on the EU referendum and considered its implications for Scotland. That work is on-going; in...

The Convener SNP

How do you think that will affect justice issues?

Roderick Campbell SNP

Who knows what the result of the referendum will be? If we moved back into fortress Britannia, it could open up a whole debate about the extent of co-operati...

The Convener SNP

Would some of our legislation—our statutes—in which we have imported duties or certain rules have to be amended?

Roderick Campbell SNP

Obviously, the extent to which European law forms a direct part of Scots law and the impact on that of a no vote, for example, is an issue. We would have to ...

The Convener SNP

Margaret McDougall and then Margaret Mitchell want to ask questions. I am sorry—I got that the wrong way round. You will be all right, Roddy—Margaret Mitchel...

Margaret Mitchell Con

I have a question about the negotiations over the creation of a European public prosecutor’s office and how that did not comply with the principle of subsidi...

Roderick Campbell SNP

No, but I take your point. We could write to the minister, asking for an update on the current position regarding the EPPO.

Margaret McDougall Lab

My question is about videoconferencing. Can you give us an update on that?

Roderick Campbell SNP

What page is that on?

Margaret McDougall Lab

It is on page 4 of paper 3. In his letter, the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs says: “Although Scotland cannot access funds from the Justice...

Roderick Campbell SNP

The letter from the minister is dated 21 January, and he says that he will update us on any developments. Perhaps we could write to him formally, asking him ...

Christian Allard SNP

Thank you for your very informative presentation, and I also thank the European and External Relations Committee for its good work. Perhaps we could have don...

Roderick Campbell SNP

That takes us into the problems of purdah. We will cease to be MSPs; there will still be a Government, but there are certain constraints on what Governments ...

The Convener SNP

Broadly speaking, there can be an Administration but no policy announcements or anything of that kind can be made during purdah.

Christian Allard SNP

That is a worry.

The Convener SNP

Well, that is life. You will stop being an MSP on 23 March—like it or lump it.

Christian Allard SNP

A lot of things could happen at any time.

The Convener SNP

We should also remember that the UK Government is not in purdah. In fact, we will not be in purdah either; we will simply be dissolved, my dear.

Margaret McDougall Lab

I wonder whether Roddy Campbell can answer a question about the directives on the presumption of innocence and on 16 and 17-year-olds, which, again, are addr...

Roderick Campbell SNP

Generally, the Government is reasonably content that our domestic law complies with the directive on the presumption of innocence. As far as the issue of 16 ...

The Convener SNP

There is also the general problem that our legislation has such varying ages for different duties, rights and protections. Some such as the age of marriage a...

Roderick Campbell SNP

I stress the point made at the bottom of that section that “The UK Government did not opt in to any of the above measures”. To a degree, it is a matter for...

The Convener SNP

Thank you very much, Roddy, for the information that you have provided on a huge range of things. As I have said, things are bit up in the air just now. Can...