THE crowdfunding exercise to pay for a court case that seeks to prove the Scottish Government does not need the permission of the UK Government to hold a second independence referendum has soared past the halfway mark towards its target.
The Forward As One independence activist organisation is seeking £159,000 to fund the action after the Court of Session refused a bid to cap the expenses of the case.
As of yesterday, more than £88,000 had been raised in less than a week and with 22 days left until the end of the fundraising exercise.
The contributions to the crowdfunding campaign have included one individual donation of £2000, and more than 3500 people have made a donation over the course of the two fundraising exercises, the first exceeding its target to start the action and this current campaign being necessary because the UK and Scottish Governments are concerned that the costs would otherwise have to be met by the taxpayer.
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In Scotland, the loser in a civil case usually has to pay most of the expenses, and hearings in the Court of Session can see bills running to five figures per day. Forward As One explained: “As we said previously, we would approach the movement for further fundraising when it became necessary. By way of an estimate. Total costs are projected by the court in the ruling on the protected expenses order to be somewhere in the region of £195,000 in total. We deduct from that total, the sum of £40,000 from the previous fundraiser and we are left with £155,000.
“This is the target we are aiming for. To be clear, if we do not reach our target, legal action will have to be discontinued.” Martin Keatings, who has been leading the action for Forward As One has pledged that details of the court case – the so-called “record” will be made public as soon as possible.
He told The National: “I thank everyone for their participation and for backing the case, all 3500-plus of them. Each of them is proving the point that when a clearly defined goal is set for the movement and they come together, there is nothing they cannot achieve.
“Ultimately, I wish I could divulge more information at this stage, however, until the closed record becomes public, I am bound by certain rules of confidentiality which I must maintain in the case, but as and when I can go into more detail, I will do so.”
The National reported last week that while Court of Session judge Lady Poole refused an order to protect the expenses, she nevertheless stated that the case could be won, saying: “I find that the case has real prospects of success.” One of the donors, Alison, gave £25 and commented: “We’re getting there ...”
The crowdfunder can be accessed at www.crowdjustice.com/case/pas30/
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