Committee
Public Petitions Committee 23 February 2016
23 Feb 2016 · S4 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Continued Petitions
Judiciary (Register of Interests) (PE1458)
There is clearly still debate about the matter. It was the Judicial Complaints Reviewer who initially indicated a change in tack, which was upheld. Where we can take the matter and whether it should be this committee that pursues it, I am not sure. Lord Carloway, the new Lord President, has made his position quite clear. It seems to me that the question is whether anyone else wants to pick the issue up. We could ask the new Lord President the same questions that we asked of the former Lord President, but given that we have his response in writing, I do not know where that would take us. The question is whether the Justice Committee or the Scottish Government wants to pursue the issue. My recollection is that it is about six months since we heard from the minister but there was no indication of any change in perspective.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
PE1458, which was brought by Peter Cherbi, is on a register of interests for members of Scotland’s judiciary. We have written to the new Lord President, who...
Kenny MacAskill (Edinburgh Eastern) (SNP)
SNP
There is clearly still debate about the matter. It was the Judicial Complaints Reviewer who initially indicated a change in tack, which was upheld. Where we...
The Convener
Lab
There are still issues to be debated and it would be useful to get the new Lord President’s views on the record. The question is whether we, as an out-going ...
Kenny MacAskill
SNP
I would be inclined to leave it in the legacy paper on the basis that we have had a reasonably full letter from Lord Carloway. If we were to squeeze him in w...
John Wilson
Ind
The petitioner has suggested that the committee write to Professor Alan Paterson of the University of Strathclyde, who has apparently done some independent a...
The Convener
Lab
The suggestion is that we put it in our legacy paper and write to Professor Paterson, as John Wilson suggested, so that his response would be available to th...
Kenny MacAskill
SNP
I am fine with that. It would also be up to the future committee to consider what will be on-going in the United States of America, where judicial declaratio...
The Convener
Lab
It is interesting to watch what is happening there and compare it.