The Committee has concluded its consideration of the following public petitions
Petition PE1479
PE1479 is a petition by Andrew Muir calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to amend the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 by removing any references to complaints being made timeously.
The Committee considered this petition at its meeting on 21 April 2015 and agreed to keep the petition open until the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission's rule changes providing for a new time bar to take effect in July 2015.
The Committee considered this petition at its meeting on 29 September and agreed to write to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission seeking information on when the rules on time-barring of complaints will change.
Petition PE1280
PE1280 by Julie Love and Dr Kenneth Faulds on amending the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 to require the holding of a fatal accident inquiry when a person from Scotland dies abroad.
The Committee considered this petition at its meeting on 21 April 2015 and agreed to keep the petition open and to consider it in the context of the Committee's consideration of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc (Scotland) Bill
Petition PE1063
PE1063 by Robert Thomson on the apparent conflict of interest which exists between solicitors/advocates and clients in the present system of speculative fee arrangements (no win – no fee).
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 8 November 2011 and agreed to write to Sheriff Principal Taylor's review group on expenses and funding of civil litigation in Scotland to inform it of the petitioner's concerns, and to close the petition.
Petition PE1427
PE1427 by Robert Kirkwood on behalf of Leith Links Residents' Association on implementing the Scottish Civil Courts Review recommendations on multi-party actions by making changes to existing protocols that will (1) encourage the Rules Council to use rule of court 2.2 for multi-party actions; (2) modify court fees to a single payment; (3) encourage the Rules Council to introduce a protocol on recovery of documents; (4) clarify the common law right of nuisance, and (5) introduce compulsory insurance.
The Committee considered this petition at its meeting on 21 April 2015 and agreed to draw the petitioner's attention to correspondence from the Scottish Government responding to his concerns and to close the petition.
Previous consideration
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending the introduction of primary legislation to implement Lord Gill's recommendations on multi-party actions.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 18 February 2014 and agreed to write to the Scottish Government asking for an update on its plans regarding the matters raised in the petition.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 4 November 2014 and agreed to write to the Scottish Government asking it to specifically include the petitioner in its consultation on its approach to matters that will be taken forward by primary legislation following Sheriff Principal Taylor's recommendations and to respond to the petitioners' concerns about the withholding of documents by private companies, and to keep the petition open until after the Scottish Government has developed its approach to this issue.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 3 February 2015 and agreed to keep the petition open while awaiting the Scottish Government's proposals arising from its consultation on the Taylor Review.
Petition PE1436
PE1436 was submitted by Colette Barrie asking for new criminal justice legislation to retrospectively abolish the corroboration requirement.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open pending the introduction of primary legislation to implement Lord Carloway's recommendations, including on corroboration.
The Committee considered petition PE1436 at its meeting on 24 September 2013. The Committee agreed to consider the petition alongside its Stage 1 consideration of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 18 February 2014 and agreed to close the petition on the basis that, after considering the petition alongside its Stage 1 consideration of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, the Committee concluded in its Stage 1 report that if corroboration was to be abolished, it should not apply retrospectively.
Petition PE1449
PE1449 by Dr John Wallace Hinton on behalf of Accountability Scotland on preserving an independent Scottish Administrative Justice Council when the UK AJTC system is abolished, ensuring the new body has a critical user-interface to enable base-roots input from the public and that it has complete independence from political or civil service influence.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 25 September 2012 and agreed to keep the petition open and to write to the Scottish Government seeking further details of (i) the functions of the non-statutory advisory committee; (ii) the timetable for its creation; and (iii) the timetable for producing and considering long-term options.
At its meeting on 6 November 2012, the Committee considered the petition again and agreed to wait for the further update from the Minister.
The Committee took account of the petitioners' views during the Committee's considerations of the Public Bodies Act consent memorandum for the Public Bodies (Abolition of Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council) Order 2013. Correspondence in relation to these considerations can be found on the Committee Correspondence webpage.
The Committee considered the petition on at its meeting on 4 June 2013 and agreed to write to the Scottish Government asking to be kept informed of developments with regard to a replacement for the Scottish Committee of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council in relation to devolved areas of justice.
The Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs wrote on 27 November 2013 to update the Committee on the establishment of a new interim advisory committee on Administrative Justice and Tribunals.
The petitioners provided a submission to the Committee on 13 February 2014.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 18 February 2014 and agreed to keep the petition open.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 3 June 2014 and agreed to write to Accountability Scotland and the Scottish Administrative Justice Council Advisory Committee seeking information on a number of issues, and to keep the petition open.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 4 November 2014 and agreed to draw the attention of the Scottish Government and Advisory Committee to the letters from Accountability Scotland and the original petitioner, and to close the petition.
Petition PE1504
PE1504 is a petition by Kathie McLean-Toremar asking the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to consider changing the current legislation regarding Civil Appeals from the Court of Session to the Supreme Court. In accordance with paragraph 1.8 appeals from the Court of Session to the Supreme Court, a party litigant does not have the same rights as a criminal, a murderer, a sex offender or another person making the same Appeal.
At its meeting on 18 February 2014 the Public Petitions Committee agreed to refer the petition to the Justice Committee.
At its meeting on 10 March 2014 the Justice Committee agreed to keep the petition open, to write to the petitioner seeking further information and to consider the issues raised by the petition in the context of its scrutiny of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The Commitee considered the petition at its meeting on 3 June 2014 and agreed to write again to the petitioner seeking clarification regarding the general public interest of her case and the precise reasoning she was given by solicitors for not representing her, and to keep the petition open.
The Committee considered the petition at its meeting on 4 November 2014 and agreed to close the petition on the basis that it has been considered in the context of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Bill, which has completed its parliamentary passage.