ALMOST seven years after it was first considered by MSPs, a petition calling for Scottish judges to register their financial and other interests has reached a crunch day, with Holyrood’s Justice Committee set to consider the matter tomorrow.
Peter Cherbi, the journalist and legal issues campaigner who raised the petition in 2012, is calling on the Justice Committee to act now and see the Scottish Government create the judicial interests register.
The register is opposed by Scotland’s senior judges and Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf says it is not necessary.
Cherbi told The National: “Given the clear backing this petition received from the Petitions Committee in March 2018, with the expectation of further action, and after one more year of studying the issue, it is now time for Justice Committee MSPs to take the petition forward and create the Register of Judges’ Interests.
“After the seven years of work by the Scottish Parliament including a full debate, evidence and support from judicial complaints reviewers, including Moi Ali, and all the evidence accumulated by MSPs who overwhelmingly support this proposal for judicial transparency, this effort should now be put to good use for the benefit of the wider public who expect transparency and accountability in all branches of the executive.
“The judiciary will have to get used to the expectation that transparency begins at home. Simply, courts cannot be run on a basis where transparency is the bedrock of justice, yet the same judiciary who head that court exclude themselves from the first principle of transparency – that of openness.
“We have seen how the judiciary have knowingly concealed conflicts of interest over the years, and only now, due to the petition itself, do we know – with the 175 recusals by judges – there are indeed problems which originate from the refusal of judges to subscribe to a Register of Judicial Interests. It is now time for transparency for those who like it and for those who don’t like it.”
Yousaf has written to the committee saying: “I don’t think it is necessary to establish a register of interests.
“I share the views of both of my predecessors that there are sufficient safeguards in place to ensure the impartiality of the judiciary.
“These safeguards are the judicial oath, the statement of principles of judicial ethics and the various rules made under the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 which concern complaints about the judiciary and judicial conduct.
“I note that no further evidence has been provided to the Justice Committee that strengthens the arguments already put forward in favour of the introduction of the register.”
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