Catch up with the latest news.
Offensive Behaviour at Football Act
The Scottish Government has announced that the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 is now in force. The Act gives Scotland's police and prosecutors additional tools to crack down on sectarian songs and abuse at and around football matches and threats posted on the internet or… Read more ...Report into rape prosecutions
A joint inspection published by HM Inspectorates of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service has found that the English criminal justice system has made progress in relation to the needs of rape victims although there is more to do.Improvements must also be made to the way the police gather and… Read more ...UNHCR raises concerns with UK asylum procedures
Following the publication of the inspection report into the UK's Detained Fast Track (DFT) asylum procedures, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has identified a number of key concerns with how these procedures operate.These concerns include:Vulnerable asylum seekers are wrongly held in detentionUNHCR is of the view that… Read more ...Fair Trials International submits plan for extradition reform
Human rights charity Fair Trials International has submitted a six-point plan to the Home Affairs Committee for reforming the UK’s extradition arrangements.Many of the proposed changes have already been recommended by other in-depth extradition reviews that took place in 2011. According to Fair Trials, all can be achieved simply and… Read more ...Stamping out domestic violence
A dedicated domestic abuse court has been established in Edinburgh to provide further support for victims of domestic abuse and bring offenders to court quickly.The pilot court will initially deal with cases from south and east police divisions with the intention of rolling out to other divisions. Justice Secretary Kenny… Read more ...Campaign against government’s Justice and Security Green Paper
The human rights group Liberty has launched a campaign, ‘For Their Eyes Only,’ against the Government’s Justice and Security Green Paper. Liberty reports that the Green Paper contains proposals which would allow future ministers to shut out the press, public and bereaved families from any court case where it is… Read more ...Bail conditions and judicial discretion
The Criminal Appeal Court has struck down a provision in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 that removes judicial discretion in the imposition of a particular bail condition. According to the Court, the provision is in breach of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR… Read more ...Airport security
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has welcomed the positive measures taken by Glasgow Airport police to address concerns about the use of Schedule 7 powers.It follows his visit to see the police operation at the airport and the launch of a new community engagement group in the wake of public meetings… Read more ...Prison Visiting Committees
The Scottish Human Rights Commission has welcomed the debate in the Scottish Parliament on Prison Visiting Committees.The Scottish Human Rights Commission is the National Human Rights Institution for Scotland and is part of the National Preventative Mechanism (NPM) under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). The UK… Read more ...