§ 28. Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)How many actions under the Human Rights Act 1998 have been brought before the Scottish courts; and if she will make a statement.[136348]
§ The Advocate-General for Scotland (Dr. Lynda Clark)Unlike the situation involving devolution issues under the Scotland Act 1998, not all actions under the Human Rights Act 1998 are required to be intimated to me. I am therefore not in a position to give a figure for the number of cases brought in the first six weeks after the Human Rights Act 1998 fully came into force. However, my experience of the Scotland Act suggests that it is likely that people will not be slow to bring human rights issues to the courts.
§ Miss McIntoshCan the hon. and learned Lady tell the House whether any actions, such as road traffic cases, have been delayed by the introduction of the measure into Scots law?
The Advocate-GeneralAs the hon. Lady may know, the road traffic case was before the Privy Council last week. Indeed, I appeared personally in that case for a number of days. We are waiting for a decision from the Privy Council. The matter has come to the highest court, through the Scottish court system, relatively quickly.