ITEM: 24 PAGE: 1 REPORT TO: THE MORAY COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2007 SUBJECT: UNIFICATION OF THE SUMMARY CRIMINAL COURTS AND CHANGES TO LAY JUSTICE BY: CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER 1. REASON FOR REPORT 1.1 This report is submitted to advise Members of progress with unification of the Summary Courts and changes to the administration of lay justice in Scotland. 1.2 This report is submitted to Committee in terms of Section II of the Council's Administrative Scheme relating to compulsory acquisition of an interest in land and buildings. Members are referred to paragraph 4.1.2 below. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that Members note progress with the Summary Justice Unification process and changes to the administration of lay justice. 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 In 2001, the then Minister for Justice announced a Review of Summary Justice in Scotland under the chairmanship of Sheriff Principal John McInnes. After a very lengthy consultation the McInnes Report was ultimately published in mid-March 2004. Thereafter in 2005 the Scottish Executive issued their proposals for the reform of summary justice in their document “Smarter Justice, Safer Communities”. Following further consultation, the Criminal Proceedings Etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Bill was published in early 2006. This Bill embodied in large measure the recommendations contained in the McInnes Report. One notable exception however was that the McInnes Report recommended abolition of lay justice. The Scottish Executive did not accept this recommendation and in the Bill they instead proposed retention of lay justice, but subject to tighter controls with regard to selection, recruitment, training and appraisal. The Bill became law in February 2007 and is accordingly now known as the Criminal Proceedings Etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007. 4. SUMMARY OF CHANGES 4.1 Summary Court Unification J:\Rhona\Reports\unificationofthesummarycriminalcourts ITEM: 24 PAGE: 2 4.1.1 In terms of the 2007 Act, administration of low level summary justice previously handled by local authorities via the network of District Courts will pass to the Scottish Courts Service (SCS) through a network of new courts to be known as “JP Courts”. The JP Courts will be administered by reference to the SCS jurisdictional areas which are known as Sheriffdoms. Moray is located within the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands which stretches as far as Stonehaven to the south and encompasses District Courts currently administered by Highland Council, Aberdeen City Council, Moray Council and Aberdeenshire Council. The unification process is being piloted in two Sheriffdoms namely, Lothian and Borders and Grampian, Highland and Islands. Unification in Lothian and Borders is scheduled to take place on 10 December 2007. Unification in Grampian, Highland and Islands is scheduled to take place in early April 2008. The Scottish Executive has indicated that both dates are subject to possible change. Unification in other Sheriffdoms will be rolled out gradually, but it is anticipated that the roll out will be complete in Scotland by on or about 2009. 4.1.2 According to plans currently intimated by the SCS, it is anticipated that the JP Court in Moray will sit in the Elgin Sheriff Court Building. The Sheriff Court building will however require to be extended to accommodate this Court. It is understood that in order to effect these changes the Procurator Fiscal's Office will be relocated and the second floor of the Sheriff Court Building will be remodelled and extended. It is anticipated however that these works will not be completed by the date of unification and so SCS proposes to use the District Court building for JP Courts and related summary court business until the renovations are completed. In terms of Section 60 of the 2007 Act, the Scottish Ministers have power to compel Local Authorities to let or sub-let premises or make these available for use for the administration of summary justice, in exchange for reimbursement of reasonable expenses and subject to the proviso that any such use will allow the Council to continue conducting business as usual in the District Court building “without adverse effect”. There is provision for arbitration in the event of a dispute. As the SCS has periodically leased the District Court building to accommodate overspill from the Sheriff Court for a number of years now, it is hoped that an appropriate accommodation can be reached regarding use of the District Court building without the need for arbitration. 4.1.3 It is envisaged that JPs will continue to sit in the JP Court, and will continue to be advised by a Legal Assessor, to be known as a Legal Adviser. In terms of the 2007 Act, clerks and other staff who spend in excess of 50% of their time on District Court business will be subject to TUPE transfer to the SCS. No staff are currently liable to TUPE transfer in Moray. SCS is currently attempting to ascertain the number of JPs who will be available to sit in the JP Courts in the Sheriffdom and the number of legal advisers and other staff who will transfer to facilitate running of the JP Courts. It is envisaged however that a recruitment drive will be necessary, both for JPs to sit in the Court and Legal Advisers to advise the JPs. Legal Advisers within the Sheriffdom will be managed by a new officer to be known as the Sheriffdom Legal Adviser. Interviews have recently been held for appointment of Sheriffdom Legal ITEM: 24 PAGE: 3 Advisers in each of Grampian, Highland and Islands and Lothian and Borders. SCS has indicated that it expects both officers to be in post by the Spring. 4.1.4 SCS has indicated that it is likely that certain District Courts currently administered by Highland Council may be closed in the medium to long term. There will however be a definite need for a JP Court in Elgin. 4.1.5 Rhona Gunn, Depute Clerk has attended regular meetings with the SCS and other stakeholders and has been keeping Bench Serving Justices appraised of developments through meetings of the Justices Committee and regular bulletins circulated to all who have intimated an interest. Moray also has three representatives on the local user group which meets periodically in the Sheriff Court building. 4.2 Changes to Lay Justice 4.2.1 Considerable changes are proposed with regard to the framework and form in which lay justice currently operates. These may be summarised as follows:- 4.2.2 It is envisaged that with effect from unification, Justices will be appointed to sit in the JP Court for a limited 5 year term, although they may be appointed for successive terms. That appointment will be subject to certain terms and conditions including undertaking to be available for relevant court business, to attend JP training, to participate in the system of appraisal to be set up for all Justices and also a condition that they perform their duties as a JP with reasonable skill and care. In addition, Justices will be appointed to a Sheriffdom wide area. Although this means that in principle Justices who previously sat in Moray District Court may be required to travel to neighbouring JP Courts, the Sheriff Principal has indicated that he does not anticipate that this will prove necessary on other than an exceptional basis. Justices who have sat in the District Court for part of the 12 month period prior to the administrative handover on 10 December 2007 will automatically receive a renewed commission for a 5 year period without the need to go through a selection process or immediate training. Instead it is envisaged that these experienced Justices will be required to attend for compulsory refresher training within the first 2 years of establishment of the JP Courts. Additional Bench Serving Justices required to sit in JP Courts in Scotland will be recruited through a new recruitment and selection programme to be handled by the reformed Justices of the Peace Advisory Committee (JPAC) on which see paragraph 4.2.5 below. 4.2.3 The role of signing Justice will be abolished with effect from 10 December 2007. This includes the supplemental list which currently comprises all JPs over the age of 70 and certain ex officio Justices. The abolition also includes Justices under the age of 70 who have not been involved in Bench Serving Duties during the year leading up to the administrative handover. With effect from 10 December 2007 signing duties previously performed by signing JPs will be handed over to the new JPs, members of Local Authorities, members of the Scottish Parliament and members of the House of Commons or House of Lords. An extract of section 76 of the 2007 Act which makes provision ITEM: 24 PAGE: 4 relative to signing functions is produced as Appendix 1 to this document. It will be appreciated by members that many documents will still be designed to show that they may only be signed by JPs. A local member may nonetheless sign these documents, and their signature will have the same effect as if they were signing as a JP, except that after their signature, they should add the words “member of a local authority”. It is hoped that this change to procedures for countersigning formal documents will not lead to a marked increase in signing duties for local members as many documents may now be signed by a range of professionals as well as JPs. As has always been the case, should members require any legal advice regarding exercise of their signing duties in terms of section 76, advice will be available from the legal services teams. 4.2.4 JPs throughout Scotland including those who are members of Moray’s Justices Committee have long expressed a concern that JPs who have previously been of service to the public for several years, whether as Bench Serving Justices or as Signing Justices, will no longer be able to refer to themselves as a JP and will not therefore have their public service recognised.