§ 30. Mr. Mackintoshasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many criminal cases have been heard on appeal in the Court of Session in the last three years; and how many of these appeals have been successful.
§ Mr. RossDetails of appeals to the High Court of Justiciary are contained in the Criminal Statistics, Scotland, for 1968, which was published as Cmnd. 4125 in September last.
§ Mr. MackintoshI thank my right hon. Friend for drawing my attention to this publication. Is he aware that these figures show a small number of 1339 successful appeals in Scotland compared with 58 per cent. of successful criminal appeals in the same three-year period in England? Does he agree that this cannot be explained by any simple suggestion that the English courts are totally inefficient and the Scottish courts totally efficient, and that this matter merits some concern?
§ Mr. RossIt may merit some concern to my hon. Friend, but it is far too immediate a conclusion to be drawn from this quick comparison. There are differences in court structure and practice in the two countries. To the extent that any inquiry is needed, I would remind my hon. Friend of the decision, announced in the House on 3rd December, by my noble Friend the Lord Advocate and myself to appoint a Departmental Committee on Criminal Procedure under the chairmanship of Lord Thomson, the terms of reference of which will cover appeal procedures.
§ Mr. WylieDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that one of the crucial distinctions between the two legal systems is the almost entire reliance in the Scottish system placed on professional judges and the minimal reliance placed on lay jurisdiction, and that that could readily explain the apparent difference in the number of successful appeals?
§ Mr. RossThe existence of a professional judiciary dealing with summary cases throughout Scotland might be expected to produce a different result from the position in England.