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Section: News
Edition: 01
Date: 15 December 2013
Page: 34
Circulation: 28990
Source: Publishers Statement 2013
Ref: 80263784
Complaints regime
is judged wanting
S
COTLAND’S sheriffs
and judges are among
the country’s most
distinguished profes-
sionals, and they are
rightly respected for
the important job they
do in presiding over complex legal
cases and ensuring justice prevails.
In a democratic society, however,
scrutiny is essential and when the
appointment of the country’s first
Judicial Complaints Reviewer
was announced, it seemed a
welcome step towards ensuring
accountability among these highly-
paid and powerful men and women.
Moi Ali was appointed in Septem-
ber 2011 and her website promises a
“totally independent, impartial and
free service for anyone unhappy
with the way their complaint about
a member of the judiciary (judges,
sheriffs and Justices of the Peace)
has been handled by the Judicial
Office for Scotland”.
After two years in the job,
however, she is clearly frustrated
with the role and is calling for a
complete overhaul of the way judi-
cial complaints are handled.
Effectively, complaints against
judges are investigated by their
peers and the new watchdog role
was supposed to bring an element
of independent scrutiny to a system
which amounted to self-policing.
However, progress appears to have
occurred only at the margins.
As Moi Ali tells our investigations
editor today, she lacks resources and
powers and has described her own
post as little more than “window
dressing”. More importantly, she
has also criticised the system of
self-regulation that allows judges
to investigate their colleagues. In
many areas of public life, includ-
ing the press, in-house complaints
systems are deemed untenable and
are being swept away.
Ali is to be commended for having
the courage to speak out on short-
comings that risk undermining
public trust in the justice system.
Given that citizens have recourse
to a fully-staffed Ombudsman in
England who can seek redress,
it seems incomprehensible Scots
should be expected to make do with
one under-resourced, part-time post.
It is of concern that she is expected
to provide a first-class service on an
annual budget of £2000.
She also says she is baffled by the
Scottish Government’s failure to
reform a system that lags behind
England’s. We share her puzzlement.
With major criminal justice reforms
in the pipeline, including the
proposed abolition of corroboration,
the judiciary faces a taxing time and
it should have the wherewithal to
rise to the challenge. As important
as the referendum on independence
is, reform of devolved areas cannot
be put on hold until next Sepetmber.
Like other public servants,
judges need a regime to scrutinise
that commands public confidence.
Creating a genuinely independent
complaints system should be seen
as an opportunity, not a threat. The
Government must revisit this area
and legislate for a watchdog service
that is truly fit for purpose.