This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission annual report
03/07/2006
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission today announced the publication of its seventh annual report, covering the period from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006.
The Commission was established in April 1999 to review alleged miscarriages of justice in Scottish criminal convictions and sentences independently of Government and the Crown.
The report sets out the main functions of the Commission, detailing review procedures and case statistics, and gives an insight into the overall workings of the Commission.
The Commission's Chairman, The Very Reverend Graham Forbes CBE, said today:
"The past year has been an exceptionally busy and successful one for the Commission in the continuance of our role in investigating alleged miscarriages of justice and promoting public confidence in the criminal justice system. The level of new cases submitted to the Commission has continued to increase dramatically, yet we have continued to exceed our key targets in terms of processing and concluding case reviews. All this has been achieved through the continuous review of our key processes to ensure that they are effective and efficient, and through the hard work, dedication and commitment of all Members and staff. Each case investigated by the Commission is done so in a consistent manner with the same level of scrutiny and impartiality afforded.
Our Annual Report for 2005-06 clearly sets out our achievements for the year as well as highlighting key statistics and trends in the review process. We continue to find that there has been no miscarriage of justice in the majority of cases we review, which is reassuring. For those cases we refer back to the High Court, the Commission has demonstrated the importance of its independent review in the attainment of justice. I must also pay tribute to the external bodies with whom we work, including Crown Office, Justiciary Office, the Police Service and the defence solicitors and advocates, without whose co-operation we would be unable to make such achievements."
The Chief Executive of the Commission, Gerard Sinclair, added
"Once again we have seen an increase in the number of cases received by the Commission for review, by about 40 per cent this year, which I hope reflects the growing public understanding and confidence in the work that we do. I am pleased to report that, through hard work and improvements in efficiencies, we have been able to support this increase without the need to augment our present staffing levels. The High Court has also determined many more of our referrals, and there is now a useful body of decisions which assist in explaining and highlighting the work of the Commission. Our annual report has been fully revised, and provides more information than ever before on the workings and review process of the Commission, as well as some statistical analysis of the cases we accept and review."
The report is available free of charge from the Commission at 5th floor Portland House, 17 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Tel: 0141 270 7030, Fax: 0141 270 7023/40. E-mail: info@sccrc.org.uk
Background
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission was established in April 1999 as an independent body to review alleged miscarriages of justice in Scotland. Previously the Secretary of State for Scotland held the responsibility for reviewing alleged miscarriages of justice and for referring deserving cases to the High Court for determination.
Under section 194 A to L of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as inserted by section 25 of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997) the Commission can refer a case to the High Court if it believes that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred and that it is in the interests of justice that a reference should be made.
As at March 31, 2006 the Commission had received a total of 784 cases and had issued final decisions in 696 cases, 57 of which were referrals to the High Court.
The Commission will issue a short press release after a case has been referred to the High Court. The press release will give notice of the fact that a named applicant's case has been referred and it will give details of the conviction and sentence. No further information in respect of the case will normally be disclosed by the Commission due to the statutory non-disclosure provisions under which the Commission operates. The Commission will also put the information contained in the press release on its website.
The Commission operates with a Board of 7 Members, one of whom is the Chairman, a Chief Executive, a Director of Administration, 2 Senior Legal Officers, 8 Legal Officers and 3 admin support staff.