§ 34. Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland whether he will publish in the Official Report a list of the prospective legislation currently being considered by the Scottish Law Commission.
§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland (Mr. Peter Fraser)No. This information is already available in the Scottish Law Commission's annual reports. In its 18th annual report, published in November 1983, the commission gives details of the work being carried out in pursuance of its published programmes of law reform and of consolidation and statute law revision.
§ Mr. KirkwoodI am grateful for that information. Is the hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the Scottish Law Commission rightly complains in its 18th report that none of the reports that it has published since 1981 has been the subject of a Bill presented to Parliament, except for consolidation measures? I hope that the three-year delay will not creep into consideration of the important recommendations and reports on bankruptcy and diligence, since it is important that those areas of the law are reformed over the next three years, as the Government's economic policies may cause them to be used more than in the past.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandIt is a great pity that the hon. Gentleman has not paid more attention to the business going through the House. In the past six months, three reports of the Scottish Law Commission have been acted upon, not least by the hon. Member for Midlothian (Mr. Eadie). A number of reports are outstanding and, as the hon. Gentleman is no doubt aware; the White Paper "A Revised Framework for Insolvency Law" states:
The Scots law on personal bankruptcy will be dealt with as a separate legislative measure based on the Report and draft Bill of the Scottish Law Commission".We are not behind with the work of the Scottish Law Commission and in the past six months considerable efforts have been made to deal with its reports.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonIs my hon. and learned Friend aware that the Scottish Law Commission is grateful for the assistance that he has given during the passage of the Law Reform (Husband and Wife) (Scotland) Bill?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI apologise to my hon. Friend for failing to mention his private Member's Bill on the outdated rules and law affecting husband and wife. I commend him and his Bill, which ensures that important provisions originally proposed by the Scottish Law Commission are put on the statute book.
§ Mr. WilsonIn view of recent publicity about the Lord Advocate, will the hon. and learned Gentleman consider urgently drawing the attention of the Scottish Law Commission to the need for legislation to prevent Lords Advocates from nominating themselves as senators of the College of Justice, particularly when divorce work has been taken away from the College of Justice, leaving an excessive number of judges for the work available?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI think that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the former Lord Advocate. The recommendation that he should become a member of the College of Justice was made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and not by himself. I should have thought that anyone who had dealt with the former Lord Advocate, either in Parliament or in his capacity as a lawyer, would recognise that he has one of the finest legal brains in the United Kingdom.