Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2016
I am very pleased that the minister has lodged the amendments in group 2. They build on the stage 2 amendments and the stage 1 report which, as Sarah Boyack said, were supported widely in committee.
Land reform in Scotland is hard to do at this time because of the European convention on human rights. I am not in any sense against the ECHR, but as we heard at the start of the debate, land reform post-ECHR tends to be focused on individuals’ property rights. There are other rights, and those rights are expressed in a range of documentation, including the documents that are referred to in the amendments in group 2.
Human rights has been a key issue—as Sarah Boyack said, it connects us with issues about land use and access to land that are widespread throughout the world. We should acknowledge the work of Megan MacInnes of Global Witness, which helped us to understand that; the work of Peter Peacock in Community Land Scotland, which helped to bring the issues to focus; and the work of Kirsteen Shields in the University of Dundee. We should also recognise the world-leading excellence of our own human rights framework. The work of Professor Alan Miller, the retiring chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, must be recognised here, as it is recognised internationally.
The addition of amendments that will ensure that the Scottish Human Rights Commission is consulted as we go forward with land reform is extremely important. I have said several times during the passage of bill that, ironically, it would not be possible for Parliament currently to pass the Crofters’ Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 because it impinges on the ECHR—in particular, article 1, protocol 1 on rights in relation to property. That does not mean that we should not try to undertake radical land reform in Scotland—of course we should. Our constituents want it—my constituents want it and people across the country want it—but it is hard to do.
What we have put in the bill—I am grateful to the Scottish Government and especially to the minister, who took the same steps in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill and agreed to similar changes—is a foundation for future action in Scotland. As the law develops, that foundation will mean consideration of not just the important elements in the ECHR, but other documentation and other experience worldwide. It will allow land reform to deepen and intensify in Scotland for the benefit of the people of Scotland. It is not an abstract; rather, it is about how people relate to and use land, and how we, as the many, access the land of Scotland, which is a common birthright. The amendments in group 2 are a vital big step forward, although the changes may seem to be technical. I am grateful to the Scottish Government for helping us to take that step forward.