Abortion, disability and the Post Office

Take a look at some of the work the Society committees undertook during the month of May.

Public Policy Highlights May 2024

Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 Briefing

The Law Society issued Stage 1 briefing on the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill, noting that any attempt to introduce and enforce safe access zones is likely to engage a range of fundamental human rights. Legislation in this area must therefore seek to balance these competing rights in line with established domestic and international human rights principles.

The Law Society stated that the Bill should include reasonable limits for the minimum and maximum radius of safe access zones and called for clarity in relation to the criminal offence created by section 5 of the Bill, to ensure that the provision is proportionate.

The inclusion of overarching principles on the face of the Bill might assist with the proper balancing exercise required and there may be merit in providing for a post-implementation review of the legislation after it has been in operation for an appropriate period of time.

The Society’s briefing made it clear that the Bill should not be seen as setting a precedent for the wide-spread curtailment of protest, for example in relation to climate change or other issues.

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Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill: written evidence

The Law Society of Scotland’s Mental Health and Disability sub-committee responded to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s call for views on the Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill.

While the committee welcomed steps to promote and safeguard the rights of disabled people, it remains neutral on the proposal to establish a Disability Commissioner for Scotland.

The briefing highlighted the already crowed landscape of Commissioners and organisations with roles which do, could or should discharge functions relevant to the purposes of the Bill.  The Committee recommended that there should be a clear policy decision on what the future landscape should look like, and how it should fulfil the requirements of UN CRPD in relation to all people with disabilities in accordance with the definition in CRPD - effectively, efficiently and in particular without confusion and duplication as to roles.

It noted that it is essential that any new Commissioner be properly resourced and suggested that, rather than focusing on the Equality Act definition of disability, any Scottish proposals should be focused more on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the broader concept of disability in CRPD, particularly in view of the policy intention to incorporate CRPD into Scots law.

The Committee called for careful consideration to be given to the interaction of the Bill’s provisions with the existing legislative landscape and with other proposed legislation including any forthcoming Scottish Human Rights Bill; a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill; the National Care Service Bill; and any legislation resulting from the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.

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Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill

The Law Society of Scotland issued a briefing on the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill, in advance of the Stage 1 Debate, agreeing in principle that “anyone wrongly convicted as a result of the impact of the defective Horizon IT system should have their conviction quashed and as a result be entitled to UK Government compensation.”

The briefing noted that while the Bill’s blanket exoneration of those wrongly convicted is unusual in Scots Law, it will allow wrongly convicted persons in Scotland in the context of the Post Office scandal, to access the financial redress scheme in the same way as their peers in other parts of the UK.

The briefing expressed the view that it should be a matter for the Scottish Courts rather than the Scottish Parliament to review and quash, wrongful convictions, when appropriate, but recognised that a case-by-case approach may impede a significant number of people, who have been seeking justice for many years in obtaining the recognition and compensation that they deserve.

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