 |
Contents
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Hon Lord Wheatley (Chairman)
The Hon Lord Philip
Sheriff Principal I D Macphail, QC
Sheriff B Kearney
Sheriff A L Stewart, QC
Sheriff G C Warner
Mr Jim Gallagher, Head of Department, Justice Department
Secretariat
Mr John Sturrock, QC
Sheriff N M P Morrison, QC, ex officio
Top
of page
OFFICE STAFF
Director of Judicial Studies: Sheriff N M P Morrison,
QC
| Legal
Assistants: |
Mr
Graeme Brown, Solicitor |
| |
Miss
Erica Jones |
Personal Assistant: Ms Aileen Shields
Clerk/typist: Miss Lauren Brownlee
Top
of page
Preliminary
The Judicial Studies Committee for Scotland (“the JSC”)
was established in 1997. It was created to promote training for
the judiciary in the Supreme Courts (the Senators of the College
of Justice) and the sheriff court (the sheriffs principal and the
sheriffs), including the part-time judiciary (temporary judges
in the Supreme Courts and part-time sheriffs).
In any true democracy, judges must enjoy a high degree of autonomy
so that they can exercise their judicial powers independently without
others, including organisations of the State such as the Executive
and Parliament, being able to control their decision-making. Unless
judges have such independence, the public will not be able to have
confidence in the administration of justice.
Judicial training itself, in so far as it seeks to influence how
judges carry out their duties, might be thought to compromise judicial
independence. In order to ensure that it does not, it has to be
recognised, in all democratic countries, that the overall control
and direction of judicial training requires to be in the hands
of the judges. This also ensures that judicial training has credibility
among the judges. The composition of the JSC recognises the importance
of these principles.
Top
of page
The JSC
Changes on the Committee
Sheriff A L Stewart QC stood down as a member of the Committee on 31 January 2004 having retired as a sheriff of Tayside, Central and Fife.
Top
of page
Changes in office staff
Miss Erica Jones was appointed to the post of legal assistant
on 8 September 2003.
Miss Lauren Brownlee was appointed to the post of clerk/typist
on 29 July 2003.
Top
of page
JSC Activities
1. Courses
(a) Induction courses
(i) New Senators and Temporary Judges
An induction course for two new Senators of the College of
Justice and four new temporary judges in the Supreme Courts
was held on 6 – 11 April 2003. This course had been
postponed from February 2003.
The programme incorporated all the elements of a Skills course
(see below) along with syndicate groups and plenary sessions on
problems in court and sentencing exercises. Presentations on prevarication
(Lord Wheatley) and drugs (DI Eric Knox of the Scottish Drug Enforcement
Agency) were included. A visit to Perth Prison was also included
in the programme.
(ii) New Sheriffs and Part-time Sheriffs
An induction course for four new permanent sheriffs and 21
newly appointed part-time sheriffs was held on 29 June – 4
July 2003. Sheriff R H Dickson and Sheriff B Kearney attended
the course as facilitators. Presentations at this course
included:
- Duties and responsibilities – Lord
Wheatley
- Sentencing options – Sheriff J K
Mitchell
- Criminal appeals – Lord Maclean
- Summary causes and small claims – Sheriff
M J Fletcher
- Drugs – DS Gavin Smith, Scottish
Drug Enforcement Agency
- Jury trials – Sheriff R J D Scott
- Contempt and prevarication – The
Hon Lord Wheatley
- Fatal accident inquiries – Sheriff
R H Dickson
- Children’s hearings – Sheriff
B Kearney
- ECHR update – Mr Stephen Tierney,
Edinburgh University
- Adults with incapacity – Mr Tom
Thomson, The Public Guardian
- Administrative matters – Mr David
Stewart, Justice Department
- Options hearings and the Ordinary Cause
Rules – Sheriff
R H Dickson
- Child welfare hearings and family actions – Sheriff
P M M Bowman
- Cultural awareness – Miss Catherine
Palmer, Scottish Executive Legal Studies Research Branch
- Domestic violence orders – Sheriff
P M M Bowman
Syndicate groups and plenary sessions on problems in court
and sentencing exercises were included. Participants also
visited either Perth Prison or Castle Huntly Prison.
(iii) Induction day seminar for new temporary judges
A day seminar for seven sheriffs appointed as temporary judges
in the Supreme Courts was held on 19 January 2004. Talks were
given by Lord Wheatley, the Deputy Principal Clerk of Justiciary
and the Keeper of the Rolls.
Top
of page
(b) Refresher courses
The JSC’s rolling programme of refresher courses began
in May 2002. Each member of the judiciary is expected to attend
a refresher course every three years. The courses held this
year are noted below. The courses are residential and three
days in length. Approximately one third of the judiciary attend
a course each year. The courses include talks on matters of
topical and general interest and recent development in law
and practice. Practical exercises and group discussions are
also included in the programme.
Top
of page
i) 11 – 14 May 2003
The fifth of the rolling programme of refresher courses was held
on 11-14 May 2003.
The course was attended by two Senators of the College of Justice,
one sheriff principal, 10 permanent sheriffs and three part-time
sheriffs. One High Court Judge representing the Judicial Studies
Board for Northern Ireland also attended as a guest. One sheriff
was unable to attend due to illness and a further four sheriffs
were unable to be released from court business. Two part-time
sheriffs were unable to attend due to commitments elsewhere.
Presentations given included:
- Cultural awareness – Miss Catherine Palmer,
Scottish Executive legal Studies Research Branch
- Risk assessment – Professor
David Cooke, Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian
University
- Current developments in criminal
law and procedure – Sheriff
A M Bell
- Domestic abuse – Janette De Haan, Women’s
Support Project
- Interviewing and questioning children – Professor
Amina Memon, Department of Psychology, University of
Aberdeen
- Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 – Lesley Thomson, Head
of Criminal Confiscation Unit, and Lorna Harris,
Head of Civil Recovery Unit, Crown Office)
- The work of the Scottish Prison
Service – Mr Alec
Spencer, Director of Rehabilitation and Care, Scottish
Prison Service
- Prevarication – Lord Wheatley
As with previous courses syndicate sessions on problems
in court and sentencing exercises were held. The results
and conclusions drawn from the exercises were discussed
at plenary sessions.
ii) 28 September – 1 October 2003
The sixth refresher course in the JSC’s rolling programme
took place on 28 September - 1 October 2003. The course
was attended by two Senators of the College of Justice, one
sheriff principal, 11 permanent sheriffs and five part-time
sheriffs. A High Court judge representing the Judicial Studies
Board for Northern Ireland and a Supreme Court judge from
the Republic of Ireland attended the course as guests. The
Rt. Hon. Lord Gill, Lord Justice Clerk, attended the first
day of the course as a guest.
The course programme followed that of the refresher course
which took place on 11 – 14 May 2003. The only changes
made to the course programme were as follows:
- Mr Alec Spencer’s presentation on the work of
the Scottish Prison Service was replaced with a presentation
entitled Rehabilitation and Inclusion by Janice Hewitt,
Head of Inclusion, Scottish Prison Service.
- The presentation on Prevarication was delivered by Lord
Philip.
iii) 22 – 25 February 2004
The seventh refresher course in the JSC’s rolling
programme took place on
22-25 February 2004. The course was attended by two Senators of
the College of Justice, one temporary judge, 15 permanent sheriffs
and five part-time sheriffs.
The course programme was similar to that of the refresher course
which took place on 28 September - 1 October. The following changes
were made to the programme:
- The presentations by the Scottish Prison Service and
by Professor Amina Memon on interviewing and questioning
children were not included at this course.
- Those presentations were replaced by a presentation on
the Philosophy of Sentencing by Professor Anthony Duff,
Department of Philosophy, University of Stirling and by
a presentation on Mediation by John Sturrock QC of Core
Mediation.
Top
of page
(c) Judicial skills courses
Three Judicial Skills courses were held in the year to 31 March
2004. The programmes included sessions on the role of the judge,
effective communication in the court room, simulated court hearings
and video feedback, judicial writing and note taking. Sessions
on charging the jury with video feedback and sentencing with video
feedback were included in each course.
As part of the judgment writing exercise participants are provided
with a video of submissions in an action for interdict. A new exercise
was filmed at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 20 September 2003. This
may be used at future Skills courses.
The Director compiled a Skills course aide-mémoire
in February 2004. The document comprised a set of notes and
observations from previous Skills courses which will be distributed
to members of the judiciary who have attended a Skills course.
i) 8 – 11 June 2003
The June course was attended by one Senator of the College of
Justice and five sheriffs. One Senator was unable to attend
due to commitments elsewhere and one sheriff was unable to
be released from court business. A further sheriff attended
as a course facilitator.
ii) 23 – 26 November 2003
The November course was attended by two Senators of the College
of Justice and six sheriffs. A further sheriff attended as
a course facilitator.
iii) 1 – 4 February 2004
This was the first course at which two workshops of simulated
court hearings were run side by side. Participants attended
the same discussion group and then attended one of two workshops
for the simulated court hearing exercises. This allowed more
participants to attend the course.
The February course was attended by one Senator of the College
of Justice, one sheriff principal and nine sheriffs. One Senator
of the College of Justice was unable to attend. A further two sheriffs
attended as course facilitators.
Top
of page
(d) Special Courses
In the Business Plan for the three years commencing 1 April 2003
it was indicated that the JSC proposed to increase substantially
the number of special courses on different areas of law and practice.
It was also proposed to repeat each special course at least twice
per year. During the year the following courses were arranged.
Top
of page
(1) Intervention and Guardianship Seminars
The first of a series of courses on Intervention and Guardianship
under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 was held
last year on 14 March 2003. The courses continued to run this
year and were chaired by Sheriff M J Fletcher. The purpose
of the courses was to examine the scope of these orders as
well as procedural and legal issues.
(i) 18 September 2003
Seventeen sheriffs and one part-time sheriff attended. Presentations
were given by Dr Sandra Campbell, Senior Medical Officer, Health
Department; Mr Adrian Ward MBE, Solicitor; Mr Tom Thomson,
The Public Guardian; and Mr Alan Barr, Director, Legal Practice
Unit, Edinburgh University. A bound volume of course papers
was distributed to participants. Professor Juliet Cheetham
of the Mental Welfare Commission attended the course as a guest.
(ii) 29 January 2004
This course was attended by 10 sheriffs and one part-time sheriff.
One sheriff was unable to be released from court duties and
one other sheriff was unable to attend due to commitments elsewhere.
Presentations were given by Dr Sandra Campbell, Senior Medical
Officer, Health Department; Mr Adrian Ward MBE, Solicitor;
Mr Alan Barr, Director, Legal Practice Unit, Edinburgh University
and Ms Julie Barr, Deputy Public Guardian. Professor Juliet
Cheetham also attended the course and gave a short presentation
on the work of the Mental Welfare Commission. A bound volume of
course papers was distributed along with an information pack on
the work of the Mental Welfare Commission provided by Professor
Cheetham.
Top
of page
(2) Summary Cause and Small Claims Seminar
The first of a series of courses on summary causes and
small claims was held on 14 November 2002. A further course
was held this year on 22 April 2003. The course was chaired
by Sheriff A L Stewart QC and was attended by 12 sheriffs
and 2 part-time sheriffs. The seminar comprised an opening
talk by Sheriff Principal Bruce Kerr QC, a discussion of
problems which the new rules have raised and a talk on housing
benefit by Mr Adrian Stalker of Shelter Housing Law Service.
The afternoon session was entitled “How
to seek to negotiate a settlement” and was led by John
Sturrock QC. The session comprised an introductory talk,
a demonstration and workshops.
Top
of page
(3) Sexual Offences Seminars
(i) 3 November 2003
The first of a series of courses on sexual offences was
held on 3 November 2003. The course was chaired by Lord
Wheatley. The seminar was attended by four Senators of
the College of Justice, one temporary judge, two sheriffs
principal and 19 sheriffs. The speakers were Professor
Ray Bull, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth,
and Sandy Brindley and Oona Hay of Rape Crisis Scotland.
Presentations were given on questioning victims in court
(Professor Bull) and the victim’s
perspective (Ms Brindley and Ms Hay). A series of workshops
and group discussion sessions were also included.
(ii) 8 March 2004
The second course on sexual offences was held on 8 March 2004
and was chaired by Lord Philip. The seminar was attended by three
Senators of the College of Justice, one temporary judge, 23
sheriffs and one part-time sheriff. The speakers, presentations
and course programme remained unchanged from the first course in
November 2003.
Top
of page
(4) Bankruptcy and Insolvency Seminar
The first of a series of courses on bankruptcy and insolvency
was held on 17 March 2004. The course was chaired by Sheriff Principal
I D Macphail QC and was attended by 22 sheriffs. Presentations
were given by Professor William McBryde, Professor of Commercial
Law, University of Edinburgh and Mr Alan Adie, insolvency practitioner.
Workshop sessions and group discussion session were also included.
Participants were issued with a bound volume of course materials.
2. Other activities
Top
of page
(a) Equal Treatment Bench Book
A consultation on the first update of the Equal Treatment Bench
Book took place this year. Invitations to review the Bench Book
(issued at the beginning of 2003) were issued to all consultees.
Top
of page
(b) Charging the Jury Manual
In response to a request from the Lord Justice Clerk that the
Jury Manual be updated more frequently, Sheriff J M S Horsburgh
QC was given leave of absence to bring the existing manual further
up to date and to simplify the language used in the possible forms
of directions to juries. The sub-committee responsible for making
revisions continued to meet as required. The first part of this
task resulted in the release of a substantial update. The second
part of the task is now being undertaken. This will result in a
re-issue of the whole manual in a revised form.
Top
of page
(c) Developments in law, practice and procedure
The JSC has continued to ensure that briefing material and information
on recent developments in law, practice and procedure are available
to the judiciary. Summaries of important decisions of the Appeal
Court and the Court of Session have been posted to the JSC’s
intranet system together with briefing notes on procedure and
legislation. During the course of the past year JSC has received
increasing numbers of requests from sheriffs and part-time
sheriffs for assistance in researching areas of law. Cases
and statutory material have been sent to sheriffs and part-time
sheriffs on a number of occasions.
The following briefing papers were issued to the judiciary:
(i) An updated briefing paper on prevarication by Lord Wheatley
and Lord Philip
(ii) A briefing paper on victim statements by Sheriff R J D Scott
(iii) A briefing note on consecutive life sentences.
Top
of page
(d) Provision of starter packs to part-time sheriffs and temporary
High Court judges
The part-time sheriffs appointed in 2003 attended at the JSC’s
offices to receive starter packs. The starter packs contained
a copy of the Charging the Jury Manual, the Equal Treatment Bench
Book and the Sheriff Court Bench Book along with briefing papers
and other material issued by the JSC. All newly appointed part-time
sheriffs were offered laptop computers and a demonstration
took place on how to use the JSC intranet to access material
online. Meetings with the newly appointed part-time sheriffs
took place throughout the spring and summer of 2003.
Seven sheriffs were appointed as temporary judges in the Supreme
Courts in November 2003. These sheriffs attended at the JSC offices
to receive starter packs.
Top
of page
(e) Checklists
A series of checklists for use by sheriffs in civil and criminal
matters were posted to the JSC’s intranet. Checklists
relating to applications for intervention orders and guardianship
orders under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
were issued. Checklists for use in intermediate diets, in relation
to victim statements under section 14 of the Criminal Justice
(Scotland) Act 2003, and in relation to sexual offences, were
also issued.
Top
of page
(f) Publication of The Work of the JSC
A booklet entitled The Work of the JSC was sent for design and
printing at the end of February 2004. This brochure will be published
in order to make the activities of the JSC more widely known.
Top
of page
(g) European Judicial Training Network
The JSC continues to play an active part in the European Judicial
Training Network (EJTN). The Director of Judicial Studies attends
meetings of both the General Assembly and Programmes Working
Group. The Director attended the meeting of the EJTN Working
Group on 13 – 14 October 2003 and December 2003 and the General Assembly
in Rome on 10 – 13 December 2003.
The Programmes Working Group, of which Scotland is a member, is
involved in preparations for a seminar on judicial training in
October 2004 for members of the EJTN responsible for training.
The judicial training bodies for Spain and Finland are organising
the event and the Group has been discussing topics which will include
objectives of training, training needs and methodologies. With
this seminar members will be able to learn from each other and
develop training ideas.
Top
of page
(h) Meeting of the UK judicial training bodies
The UK Judicial Studies Council consists of the Chairmen and Directors
of the judicial training bodies of Scotland, England and Wales
and Northern Ireland. The Council discusses training matters of
mutual interest. The Council met on 1 December 2003 at Langanside,
Belfast. This meeting had been postponed from 7 October 2003.
Top
of page
(i) Tea-time seminars for senators
Two tea-time seminars for Senators of the College of Justice were
held in the year to 31 March 2004. All senators were invited to
attend.
Top
of page
i) The work of the Judicial Appointment Board
A talk on the work of the Judicial Appointments Board took
place on 12 November 2003. Sir Neil Mackintosh CBE DL, Chairman
of the Board, delivered the presentation. A discussion followed.
ii) The work of the Office of the Advocate General
Mr Charles Mullin, Legal Secretary to the Advocate General
for Scotland, delivered this talk to Senators on 18 February
2004. A discussion followed.
Top
of page
(j) Psychology and Law Conference – 7 – 12
July 2003
The Director chaired one of the satellite seminars at
the conference on Problem Courts on 8 July 2003.
3. Business Plan for three years commencing 1 April 2003
A number of objectives in the Business Plan have been achieved:
-
- The number of training events organised by the JSC increased
from 13 last year to 17 in this year.
- The number of Skills courses has been increased from three
to four in the calendar year 2004 and the number of judges
attending has been increased.
- The number of special courses, one day seminars on particular
topics, increased from five last year to eight in this year.
- Each of the special courses was offered at least twice.
- The aide-mémoire on judicial skills was issued.
Top
of page
|
|
