MSPs to examine fix for ECHR-incompatible disclosure regime
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The courts have identified an incompatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the current disclosure regime, which a proposed law seeks to fix.
This proposed change fixes a previous amendment to the disclosure regime made in 2015.
The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee would like to hear views on these proposed changes.
The proposed changes would amend the higher level disclosure regime as set out in the Police Act 1997 and in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 by extending the right to apply to a sheriff against disclosure of spent convictions.
The right to apply to the sheriff against disclosure, which currently arises in respect of spent convictions for offences listed in schedule 8B of the Police Act, would be extended to cover also spent convictions for offences listed in schedule 8A of that act, in certain circumstances.
Graham Simpson MSP, convener of the committee, said: “We all want a disclosure system that is legally robust and has public confidence. The Committee wants to examine these changes to see if they meet the concerns raised by the court.
“This is a fix to fix a fix. We will be applying thorough scrutiny. We don’t want to find ourselves back here again and we want to make sure that these proposed changes could deliver a disclosure regime that is capable of being operated compatibly with ECHR.”
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