Thank you for contacting me about the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.
I understand your concerns about the substantial reforms to Scotland’s judicial system, which are being proposed under this Bill. The legislation originated from a series of reviews and consultations that the SNP Government conducted which includes works by the Victims Taskforce, a report into jury sizes and Lady Dorrian’s report in 2021 on improving the management of sexual offence cases.
Scottish Conservatives have significant concerns about the proposal to abolish jury trials. In our manifesto for the 2021 Holyrood elections, we made clear our commitment to retaining jury trials. Juries inspire a sense of fairness in trial outcomes, and command public confidence as a cornerstone of Scotland’s legal system. The Bill also fails to deliver on many pro-victim reforms that the Scottish Conservatives have championed such as Michelle’s Law, which would give victims a voice when killers and other criminals are being considered for release.
You raise the possibility of the Bill being put to a public vote under the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020. I recognise the widespread concerns about the changes that the bill would introduce but I do not support putting the proposed new law to a referendum.