Friday, May 11, 2012

Human Rights record of Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee ‘non existent’ claims Glasgow Human Rights Network report for Holyrood msp group

Justice Committee Scottish Parliament 11Holyrood’s Justice Committee has a poor record of considering Scots Human Rights, claims report. THE Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has been condemned in a report produced by academics from the University of Glasgow for the Cross Party Group on Human Rights at Holyrood as having  "a reductive and sceptical pattern of attitude towards human rights". The critical report goes on to challenge the pitiful role of the Justice Committee, often seen by the public as partisan & protective of vested interests, and claims the committee “… rarely makes reference to the regional and global human rights regimes of which the UK is a member, and when it does it appears to see human rights merely as a constraint on the administration of criminal justice.”

The report (pdf), also available online here : Scottish Parliament Committees’ Perspective on Human Rights produced by Dr Kurt Mills, Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights at the University of Glasgow and Convenor of the Glasgow Human Rights Network found deficiencies in approach in several of the existing structures, most notably the Justice Committee. For example, the report notes that when discussing issues such as inclusivity of the justice system, legal aid and prisons, the Committee did not make reference to human rights which the authors found “extremely concerning.”

The findings of the report will echo with many members of the public who have asked the Justice Committee to consider issues of grave importance concerning many aspects of Scots law only to be rebuked by a divisive, prejudiced & at times, flippant group of politicians, who appear to have little regard for the inclusive Human Rights of all of Scotland.

The report calls for the Scottish Parliament to establish a separate Human Rights Committee because the current committee system has failed to adequately consider human rights issues. 

A Press Release from the University of Glasgow reports that Dr Kurt Mills, Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights at the University of Glasgow and Convenor of the Glasgow Human Rights Network which produced the report said: “We found that whilst there is some consideration of human rights at Holyrood, consideration of such issues is haphazard at best. The committee with the official mandate for human rights, the Justice Committee, exhibits, according to the report, "a reductive and sceptical pattern of attitude towards human rights." It rarely makes reference to the regional and global human rights regimes of which the UK is a member, and when it does it appears to see human rights merely as a constraint on the administration of criminal justice.”

Dr Mills continued : “It is clear that for the Scottish Parliament to adequately live up to human rights obligations found in the UK Human Rights Act, the European Convention on Human Rights, and many other international human rights instruments to which the UK is a party, it needs a mechanism whereby all relevant legislation can be considered from a human rights perspective. Current arrangements are not adequate. The most reasonable course of action is to create a human rights committee within the Scottish Parliament to act as a focal point for such review and discussion.”

The findings of the report have been backed by politicians and representatives from civic Scotland. The Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party group on Human Rights is the SNP MSP John Finnie:  “This report is an important examination of Parliament’s committee system’s consideration of human rights issues.  I am sure that the Parliamentary authorities will give the report appropriate consideration including a review of the need for a Parliamentary human rights committee.”

That view was endorsed by Shabnum Mustapha, Director of Amnesty International Scotland :  "Amnesty International welcomes the findings of the report which has cast a light on some of the missed opportunities to raise human rights as part of Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny of legislation. We urge the Scottish Parliament to look at how human rights considerations can be better embedded in the work of the Parliament."

Carole Ewart, Convener of The Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS), also voiced her support : “The Human Rights Consortium Scotland welcomes the report which confirms the anecdotal experiences of our members that human rights are insufficiently addressed by committees in the Scottish Parliament. We repeat our call, first made in early May 2011, that the Scottish Parliament establishes a Human Rights Committee to ensure transparency, accountability and compliance with human rights law and with Section 29 of the Scotland Act.  We believe that mainstreaming  human rights across its business will improve the design, delivery and funding of public services, reduce risk of spending public money on compensation payments and  prioritise spend on the people who need services the most.”

It is a matter of record that since it came into existence in 1999, the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has never once passed a pro-consumer reform or positively considered a public petition seeking to clean up Scotland’s “Victorian” justice system or reform key areas such as regulation of Scotland’s legal profession or deal with issues relating to Human Rights of clients & consumers against the vested interests of those in the legal establishment.

Constituents of MSPs have reported issues over the years to Diary of Injustice where politicians from all parties have failed abysmally to publicly push issues of Human Rights in the Scottish Parliament while on the other hand, being ever happy to issue congratulatory appreciations & events for some professions accused of serial breaches of mounting numbers of constituents Human Rights.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

No surprise here then.Most of the Justice Committee will be only too happy to take their 70 grant a year and charge us 40 grand for stationery expenses but when you raise Human Rights they run a mile

Anonymous said...

Good to see Dr Mills telling the truth as we all know it!

Anonymous said...

The Scottish Parliament is the greatest error in the history of Scotland. Vested interests are protected there. Some justice committee.

Anonymous said...

You only need to take a look at who is on the Justice Committee to understand why they don't give a toss about Human Rights

Anonymous said...

Premise 1. The Police do not arrest crooked lawyers because the Law Society and Crown Office are in charge of the Police.

Premise 2. Lawyers are in charge of investigating their colleagues.

Conclusion. Lawyers can do what they want to clients because they will NEVER be prosecuted for their corruption.

Anonymous said...

From the International Mens Organisation Web Site

A common question our group get asked often is can we recommend an honest lawyer?

The simple answer is that there are honest lawyers but they are no longer lawyers as they are either dead, have resigned from the law society or been sacked by them.

Any person who has an affinity with his fellow man and who studied law would quickly find out the speed at which any kindness, consideration, honesty, integrity or empathy would be driven out of the soul of a potential candidate and they would have no option but to resign when they finally got to know what was expected of them .

Anyone who tried to operate as an honest lawyer would find they would be black balled by their organisation and its members, as HONESTY and INTEGRITY are not qualities that ensure the long term security, prosperity and survival of a legal mafia that primarily operates as fraudulently and as corruptly as they can get away with, while masquerading as some sort of legal system.
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Yes they are not a legal system, that is just a front for The Law Society and Courts. They are a mafia, and wise people do their utmost to avoid them, if ever a profession deserves the tag evil incarnate they are it.

Anonymous said...

Mention Human Rights to most msps and they tell you to f*off or dont even bother replying

Anonymous said...

Sex abuse victim, 16, 'hanged herself after barrister’s legal blunder caused trial to collapse'

See http://www.intmensorg.info/judges.htm

Anonymous said...

"I am sure that the Parliamentary authorities will give the report appropriate consideration including a review of the need for a Parliamentary human rights committee.”

DREAM ON.....this will end up in the same place as Lord Gill's Committee's recommendations of some 2 years ago re the need for 'urgent change' in the Scottish Civil justice System. That is, in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet conveniently 'lost' inin a cellar somewhere.

Anonymous said...

There was not so much as a peep out of Amnesty International Scotland, Which, the International Human Rights Dept at the University of Glasgow or the Glasgow Human Rights Network when you and others reported on;

http://petercherbi.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/fifteen-year-wait-for-justice-against.html

And which I understand has now gone to Appeal.

PAPER TIGERS the lot of them.

Anonymous said...

They dont jump when we need them but they do jump for their pals at the Law Society or for the usual brown envelope!

Anonymous said...

MSPs dont know the meaning of the words "Human Rights" but as others have pointed out they do know how to stuff their snouts in the trough along with the rest of the pigs.

Dont expect any help from any msp on HR issues.

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Society_of_Scotland


Lawyers in Scotland have been organised in professional bodies since at least the sixteenth century. The Faculty of Advocates was established as the body for practising advocates in 1532, though its origins are thought to date from even earlier. Other lawyers were represented by associations and faculties of procurators and solicitors. Among those that still exist, the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet (WS Society) was formally established in 1594 and the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow was incorporated before 1668.

As the legal profession expanded in line with the volume of legislation introduced in the twentieth century, it became clear that a representative body for all solicitors was needed along with reform of the informal system of lawyers voluntarily providing legal services to those who could not afford representation, which had existed since 1424. The Legal Aid and Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1949 established the Law Society of Scotland as the governing body for solicitors at the same time as it laid the foundation of the modern legal aid and assistance scheme.
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Legal Aid and assistance is available for certain trpes of cases. Try getting Legal Aid to sue a crooked lawyer, you have no chance.

The Police are there to stop criminals stealing property and deal with violent people. But when a lawyer steals your property you need another lawyer to help you. In these circumstances you become rightless and this is the critical element of self regulation. You complain to the thieves colleages, you get no where. There is such a thing as legalized theft in Scotland, watch and see how many clients of crooked law firms get their money back. Millions of clients must have been ruined by this profession over hundreds of years. Only now with brave campainers and the internet are we learning the vile truth. Trusting a lawyer is an illusion, they have a backup system that vindicates them no matter how serious the consequences fro clients. Lawyers are human rights abusers.

Anonymous said...

"I am sure that the Parliamentary authorities will give the report appropriate consideration including a review of the need for a Parliamentary human rights committee.”
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To be honest with you Mr Finnie in my experience the Parliament has been Scotland's greatest curse. It protects criminals who will never be in jail because their crimes against innocent trusting Scots are hidden behind Law Society bureaucracy. Client suicides the Law Society have never refuted the allegation, as far as this countries MSP are concerned only lawyers are human, the rest are untermenchen or subhuman, and please note I am not calling any MSP a Nazi. I am simply saying that an unelected union called the Law Society are the Scottish Parliament and control policymaking to their benefit while the long suffering victims of a legal dictatorship are cast aside ruined for life. Anyone in the know will never trust a Scottish Lawyer or an MSP. They are the same. I stopped voting because of this issue, oh go to an MSP if you have a problem but if the problem is about a crooked lawyer that MSP will repudiate his or her constituent.

The LPLA Act meant to protect us is now toothless, another piece of legislation destroyed for the Law Society, an organisation dedicated to preverting the course of justice to protect its interests. The human rights committee will recycle the report for toilet paper. None of you are fit to be parliamentarians. God help us if Salmond convinces the mob to go independent. Dissenters will get the same treatment as Mr Cummings.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes they dont care about voters human rights, the reports for the last six years on A Diary of Injustice prove that.

Anonymous said...

All lawyers pay into the same professional indemnity scheme so that you cannot claim damages from them, because even if a lawyer would help you his insurer would be paying your damages.

If you have no chance of damages you should never trust them.

Royal Sun Alliance are The Law Society of Scotland the most corrupt perverter of justice on this planet.

William Forbes said...

Whilst I don’t know about other legal systems I do know that, in Scotland, the division between the legislature, the government and the judiciary is all but ethereal. The accepted discipline, in any real democracy, of a separation between the law makers and the law enforcers will be tested further with firstly the appointment of the new Lord President; secondly the ongoing reviews (of the reviews) of the legal system and finally yet more human rights appeals to the Supreme Court.

The joke apparently is that Alex Salmond’s recent trip to China was actually a fact finding mission to see what he could learn on human rights!

Anonymous said...

Having looked through the horrid Scottish Parliament website I can find no Human Rights success stories for the Justice Committee therefore the only conclusion is Dr Mills report is accurate.

Anonymous said...

The findings of the report will echo with many members of the public who have asked the Justice Committee to consider issues of grave importance concerning many aspects of Scots law only to be rebuked by a divisive, prejudiced & at times, flippant group of politicians, who appear to have little regard for the inclusive Human Rights of all of Scotland.
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Exactly the only humans in Scotland are the self regulators, as one campainer stated about this disaster of a perliament, "the lawyers got a ganghut".

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine from France told me today his sisters case for occupational injury went against her in court, and I told him about the insurance links between doctors, lawyers and employers. I also told him I was shocked she got the case to court. Lawyers and doctors in litigation have two requirements

Making money.

Covering up occupational injury.

If someone can never work again they leave them to starve, pure bastards.

Anonymous said...

FIFTEEN year wait for justice against Motherwell College marks poor state of Scotland’s ‘Victorian’ Justice System on European Civil Justice Day.

Any news on this case Peter?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

They dont jump when we need them but they do jump for their pals at the Law Society or for the usual brown envelope!
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Exactly money and lawyers controlling MSP's so that policy always favours the Law Society of Scotland and its mafia network of law firms. Democracy is meant to put power in the hands of the voters, but it is easy to get round this if most of the voters fail to understand how powerful interest groups control the cowards the public voted for.

Penman, Mill, Yelland and the other infamous lawyer crooks, your average MSP will protect them and repudiate the voters, the Scottish Parliament is the Law Societies Parliament not ours. And on referendum day the mob will get rid of the union ignorant of the fact that we have a bunch of lawyer loving vermin called MSP's who will really destroy human rights when they have full control of the country.

Anonymous said...

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10419


White Ribbon Scotland Campaign

No Recourse No Safety

Trafficking in Scotland

Terrorism, Security and Human Rights
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I totally agree with this pressure group but add another campaign, TARGET THE LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND WHO DO NOT DENY CLIENT SUICIDES, AND THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE DO NOTHING ABOUT IT.

Scottish Gypsy Travellers.

Anonymous said...

650 bloated, self-serving, two-faced, mealy-mouthed, hypocritical parasites loitering in the House of Conmen with their long smelly snouts firmly embedded in the obscene expenses trough, who do not give a hoot about the electorate.
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And another useless bunch in the Scottish Parliament, cuts, what cuts dont see any of them struggling. Politics is failing society and these useless parliaments with their parasites who look after vested interests at the expense of those who voted for them have a lot more in common than they think. MSP's and MP's are the same in it for the gravy and screw Joe Bloggs.

Anonymous said...

The SNP like the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission are simply another department of the Law Society of Scotland. They all want the same thing protection of lawyers and their money making machine at all costs.

The Scottish Parliament is an affront to justice, its MSP's made a pack with the devil and repudiated the voters. Voting is immaterial, the Law society are the power structure of all MSP's.

Anonymous said...

http://petercherbi.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/suicides-illness-broken-families-and.html

"Suicides, illness, broken families and ruined clients reveal true cost of Law Society's Master Policy which 'allows solicitors to sleep at night".
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The Justice Committee protect human rights but for them only lawyers are human.

Anonymous said...

William Forbes said...

Whilst I don’t know about other legal systems I do know that, in Scotland, the division between the legislature, the government and the judiciary is all but ethereal.

Yes 100% spot on, the Law Society of Scotland are the Government. They are the masters of our MSP puppets, gutless scum. If you have a problem with a lawyer you are devoid of government protection because you become rightless. Self regulation is silent tyranny in a false democracy. Voting does not mean freedom.

Anonymous said...

MSP hits out at treatment rooms consultation

May 10 2012 Hamilton Advertiser

AN MSP has described as “non-existent” the consultation that preceded proposals to centralise Hamilton’s treatment room set-up.

Margaret Mitchell said the matter had not been raised at the regular meetings between MSPs and NHS Lanarkshire officials.

She added that Hamilton GPs gave the idea the thumbs down when they were emailed about it.
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Hit out at Scotlands Government The Law Society Margaret, patient needs are important and a vote winner but you MSP's kiss lawyers backsides. You would not deal with a corrupt professional or their union would you?

Anonymous said...

To be honest with you Mr Finnie in my experience the Parliament has been Scotland's greatest curse. It is filled with people of the same mind as Douglas Mill and the rest of the Law Societies ruthless reprobates. Place the Brass Law Society of Scotland sign on the Scottish Parliament. At least be honest with the voters as to who is really in charge of the country.

Anonymous said...

A lawyer once told me the courts are not for prosecuting crooked lawyers. I can see from campainers that this was the most honest thing he ever told me. As for Human Rights, it speaks volumes what kind of animal man is when we need a human rights act in the first place. It is time for pressure groups who believe in human rights to run reports on the Justice Committee. This committee are just like lawyers, they are selective regarding who is entitled to justice and who is not.