Estate owners query human rights compliance of Land Reform Bill

The organisation representing owners of Scotland's landed estates has written to the Scottish Government’s law officers asking them to double check the human rights complance of the agricultural tenancy provisions in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, before the bill is put forward for royal assent.

Scottish Land & Estates is not seeking to strike down the whole bill, but is directing attention in particular to the sections relating to the assignation of secure tenancies and the widening of succession rights.

It says it has received legal advice that the assignation of tenancies covered by the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 to new secure tenancies, and the widening of succession rights to secure tenancies, damage property rights and contravene the European Convention on Human Rights. The Scottish Parliament does not have legal power to legislate in breach of the Convention, and court challenge can be taken against any provisions that are alleged to infringe human rights.

The advice given was that the significant widening of the group of people to whom a tenant can transfer their tenancy during their lifetime (assignation), or after death (succession), could lead to landlords, who had an expectation of recovering possession of a farm, losing that opportunity.

Enabling tenants effectively to sell on a secure tenancy would also contravene the Convention, and the cumulative effect of the two issues exacerbates non-compliance.

The submission to the law officers further represents that if compliance with the Convention cannot be verified, the matter should be referred to the UK Supreme Court for a ruling, in accordance with provisions in the Scotland Act.

David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land & Estates, commented: "Scottish agriculture is still counting the cost of flawed legislation on limited partnerships being passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2003 and resulting in the longrunning Salvesen v Riddell case, the ramifications of which are still not fully resolved despite a ruling in the Supreme Court."

He added: "It is in everyone’s interests that we are sure that the new land reform legislation is not flawed. Parliamentary committees and leading politicians have also said it is vitally important that the legislation is legally compliant.

"We want to ensure, even at this late stage, that every possible step is taken to avoid the industry being plunged into longrunning legal turmoil when these provisions take effect."