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Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011
The Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which received Royal Assent on 27 April 2011. and came into force on 28 November 2011. The Act creates a statutory basis for the rule against trying a person twice for the same crime (known as double jeopardy). The Act also creates three narrow exceptions to this rule. Following the acquittal of Angus Sinclair for the World's End Murders in 2007, on 20 November 2007 the then Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill MSP instructed the Scottish Law Commission to consider the law relating to several issues arising from the trial and make recommendations for reform. One of these issues was "the principle of double jeopardy, and whether there should be exceptions to it" In December 2009 the Scottish Law Commission published its report on the principle of double jeopardy. The commission recommended that the principle be retained in Scottish Law and also "The general rule against double jeopardy should ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny MacAskill
Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he defected to the Alba Party in 2021, and serves as their depute leader. Born in Edinburgh and educated at Linlithgow Academy, MacAskill studied law at the University of Edinburgh and was a senior partner in a law firm in Glasgow. He was a long-standing member of the SNP's National Executive Committee and served as treasurer and vice convener of policy, before being elected at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. He was convener of the Scottish Parliament Subordinate Legislation Committee from 1999 to 2001. Following the SNP's victory in 2007, MacAskill was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government. In this role, he o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabinet Secretary For Justice
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, commonly referred to as the Justice Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for law and order in Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by the Minister for Community Safety. The current Cabinet Secretary for Justice is Keith Brown, who was appointed in May 2021. History The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Justice, with the advent of devolution and the institution of the Scottish Parliament, taking over some of the roles and functions of the former Scottish Office Minister of State for Home Affairs that existed prior to 1999. As with the UK Secretary of State for Justice, but unlike some other justice ministers, the Cabinet Secretary does not have any oversight of prosecutions - in Scotland these are handled by the Lord Advocate. Overview Responsibilities The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice include: *Policing *Fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Act Of The Scottish Parliament
An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successful 1997 referendum on devolution. Prior to the establishment of the Parliament under the 1998 Act, all post-union laws specific to Scotland were passed at the Westminster Parliament. Although the Westminster Parliament has retained the ability to legislate for Scotland, by convention it does not do so without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. Since the passing of the 1998 Act, the Westminster Parliament has passed five public general acts that apply only to Scotland. A draft Act is known as a Bill. Once it is passed by the Scottish Parliament and receives royal assent, the Bill becomes an Act and is then a part of Scots Law. Classification of legislation Public Bills A Public Bill is a Bill which is introduced by a M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century. Royal assent is typically associated with elaborate ceremony. In the United Kingdom the Sovereign may appear personally in the House of Lords or may appoint Lords Commissioners, who announc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Jeopardy
In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare cases prosecutorial and/or judge misconduct in the same jurisdiction. Double jeopardy is a common concept in criminal law. In civil law, a similar concept is that of . Variation in common law countries is the peremptory plea, which may take the specific forms of ('previously acquitted') or ('previously convicted'). These doctrines appear to have originated in ancient Roman law, in the broader principle ('not twice against the same'). Availability as a legal defence If a double-jeopardy issue is raised, evidence will be placed before the court, which will typically rule as a preliminary matter whether the plea is substantiated; if it is, the projected trial will be prevented from proceeding. In some countries certain exemptions are p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World's End Murders
The World's End Murders is the colloquial name given to the murder of two girls, Christine Eadie, 17, and Helen Scott, 17, in Edinburgh, in October 1977. The case is so named because both victims were last seen alive leaving The World's End pub in Edinburgh's Old Town. The only person to stand trial accused of the murders, Angus Sinclair, was acquitted in 2007 in controversial circumstances. Following the amendment of the law of double jeopardy, which would have prevented his retrial, Sinclair was retried in October 2014 and convicted of both murders on 14 November 2014. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years, the longest sentence by a Scottish court, meaning he would have been 106 years old when he was eligible for a potential release on parole. He died at HM Prison Glenochil aged 73 on 11 March 2019. Coincidentally, he died on the same day the BBC's ''Crimewatch Roadshow'' programme profiled the murders. In addition to the murders of Eadie and S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Member Of The Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where each constituency has its own representative, and each region has seats given to political parties to reflect as closely as possible its level of support among voters. Each registered voter is asked to cast 2 votes, resulting in MSPs being elected in one of two ways: * 73 are elected as First past the post constituency MSPs and; * 56 are elected as Regional additional member MSPs. Seven are elected from each of eight regional groups of constituencies. Types of candidates With the additional members system, there are 3 ways in which a person can stand to be a MSP: * a constituency candidate * a candidate named on a party list at the regional election * an individu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Law Commission
The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal system. It was established by the Law Commissions Act 1965 (as amended) at the same time as the Law Commission in England and Wales. Appointments are ordinarily made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice. The commission is part of the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies. Functions The Commission exists to keep Scots law under review and recommend reform as needed. The commission's scope encompasses devolved and reserved matters, as defined by the Scotland Act 1998 and as such has duty for laws that are the responsibility of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as well as those that are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. Composition The commission consists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Law
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland law, it is one of the three legal systems of the United Kingdom.Stair, General Legal Concepts (Reissue), para. 4 (Online) Retrieved 2011-11-29 Early Scots law before the 12th century consisted of the different legal traditions of the various cultural groups who inhabited the country at the time, the Gaels in most of the country, with the Britons and Anglo-Saxons in some districts south of the Forth and with the Norse in the islands and north of the River Oykel. The introduction of feudalism from the 12th century and the expansion of the Kingdom of Scotland established the modern roots of Scots law, which was gradually influenced by other, especially Anglo-Norman and continental legal traditions. Although there was some indirect Roman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bribery
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corrupt solicitation, acceptance, or transfer of value in exchange for official action." Gifts of money or other items of value which are otherwise available to everyone on an equivalent basis, and not for dishonest purposes, is not bribery. Offering a discount or a refund to all purchasers is a legal rebate and is not bribery. For example, it is legal for an employee of a Public Utilities Commission involved in electric rate regulation to accept a rebate on electric service that reduces their cost for electricity, when the rebate is available to other residential electric customers. However, giving a discount specifically to that employee to influence them to look favorably on the electric utility's rate increase applications would be consi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perverting The Course Of Justice
Perverting the course of justice is an offence committed when a person prevents justice from being served on themselves or on another party. In England and Wales it is a common law offence, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Statutory versions of the offence exist in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, and New Zealand. The Scottish equivalent is defeating the ends of justice, while the South African counterpart is defeating or obstructing the course of justice. A similar concept, obstruction of justice, exists in United States law. England and Wales Doing an act tending and intending to pervert the course of public justice is an offence under the common law of England and Wales. Perverting the course of justice can be any of three acts: * Fabricating or disposing of evidence * Intimidating or threatening a witness or juror * Intimidating or threatening a judge Also criminal are: # conspiring with another to pervert the course of justice, and # intending to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subornation Of Perjury
In American law, Scots law, and under the laws of some English-speaking Commonwealth nations, subornation of perjury is the crime of persuading or permitting a person to commit perjury, which is the swearing of a false oath to tell the truth in a legal proceeding, whether spoken or written. U.S. Law In American federal law, Title provides: The term ''subornation of perjury'' further describes the circumstance wherein an attorney at law causes a client to lie under oath or, allows another party to lie under oath. In California law, per the state bar code, the subornation of perjury constitutes an act of "moral turpitude" on the part of the attorney, and thus, is cause for their disbarment, or for the suspension of their license to practice law. In legal practice As a crime, it has been defined as "persuading another to commit perjury." But "suborn" is more broadly defined. Amongst three definitions: to induce a person to commit a wrongful act ... esp. in a secret or underh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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