Hansard

The Convener SNP

Welcome back to this meeting of the European and External Relations Committee. Because of the earlier evidence sessions, we are running a wee bit over time. ...

Hanzala Malik (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

I am the deputy convener.

Dr Tobias Lock (University of Edinburgh)

I am from the University of Edinburgh law school.

Willie Coffey SNP

I am the MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.

Simon Di Rollo QC (Faculty of Advocates)

I am from the Faculty of Advocates.

Roderick Campbell SNP

I am an MSP for North East Fife and I refer to my register of interests, which declares that I am a member of the Faculty of Advocates.

Professor Alan Miller (Scottish Human Rights Commission)

I am the outgoing chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Adam Ingram SNP

I am the MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley.

Paul Brown (Campaign for Housing and Social Welfare Law)

I am from the Legal Services Agency, but I am here representing the campaign for housing and social welfare law.

Naomi McAuliffe (Amnesty International)

I am from Amnesty International.

Anne McTaggart Lab

I am an MSP for Glasgow.

Michael Clancy (Law Society of Scotland)

Good morning. I am from the Law Society of Scotland.

The Convener SNP

Professor David Mead joins us for this evidence session via a very strong videolink—nice to have you here, Professor Mead. The etiquette for the round-table...

Professor Miller

Sure. Thank you, convener. I took part in an evidence session with the committee on human rights a few weeks ago, so I do not think that anything that I will...

The Convener SNP

Thank you very much. Professor Mead, obviously we in this room have a keen interest in the Human Rights Act 1998 and its impact on Scotland. Perhaps you have...

Professor David Mead (University of East Anglia)

Yes. I am certainly not qualified to speak about anything Scottish, but I have a couple of general points to make about the Human Rights Act 1998. The act i...

The Convener SNP

Okay. Thank you very much. I know that Amnesty International has raised particular issues. Does Naomi McAuliffe want to come in?

Naomi McAuliffe

I thank the committee again for the invite to expand on our written evidence. It is certainly timely for us to look at the issue, given the House of Lords co...

Adam Ingram SNP

You made a point about misinterpretation and misunderstanding of what the act is all about. Some of what we are hearing from Westminster in particular is tha...

Professor Miller

I would be happy to try to answer that question. It is quite clear from the press and media campaign over the past few weeks on the armed forces issue and fr...

The Convener SNP

Simon di Rollo, I think that the Faculty of Advocates has produced evidence, which perhaps backs up or gives a different insight into the issue.

Simon Di Rollo

I agree with Alan Miller. As far as the faculty is concerned, we see no justification for the proposition that the court is guilty of mission creep, if that ...

Roderick Campbell SNP

The other side of the coin is the concept of the margin of appreciation. Will Simon di Rollo—or any of the other witnesses—comment on how that concept has be...

The Convener SNP

Tobias Lock, do you want to come in on that?

Dr Lock

I will try, because the issues are related. The allegation of mission creep comes from interpretations of the convention through a modern understanding. For ...

The Convener SNP

Paul Brown will have another perspective on the issue.

Paul Brown

To go back to the question of the armed forces, it is important to bear it in mind that the European convention on human rights legal committee was chaired b...

The Convener SNP

That is an important issue. I will go back to Professor Mead and then ask Michael Clancy to pick up on some of those points. Professor Mead, in your written...

Professor Mead

The term “worthy victims” is not mine; it is used in media studies to denote people who are portrayed so as to gain sympathy. The problem that I have tried t...

The Convener SNP

That leads on to the points that Paul Brown made about the understanding of the impact of the proposals on things such as a Scottish constitution. We obvious...