Scottish Law Commission Annual Report 2008

During 2008 the Commission continued to produce a number of discussion papers and reports, both in pursuance of the Seventh Program and in response to references from Ministers. The latter category includes reports on Crown appeals and damages for wrongful death. The Commission also intend during 2009 to produce major reports on succession, land registration, unincorporated associations and the rule against double jeopardy. It is of some concern to the chairman (Lord Drummond Young), that the number of Commission reports that remain unimplemented has risen significantly since devolution. Many of these reports result from Ministerial references, and in nearly all cases the report has not received any official reaction. The rate of implementation of Scottish Law Commission reports now compares unfavorably with other jurisdictions of similar size such as New Zealand and the larger Australian states. The work of law reform bodies is particularly important in such jurisdictions because the opportunities to develop the law through court decisions are not as numerous as in larger jurisdictions. The danger is that Scots law will fall behind the rest of the world’s legal systems in responding to the challenges of an era marked by rapid technological and economic change. In the field of criminal law the Sexual Offices (Scotland) Bill, the implementing our report on the subject, is currently passing through the Scottish Parliament. In the field of civil law, the Scottish Government is still giving consideration to the possibility of legislation following the report on interest on debt and damages and report on conversion of long leases, which were both published in 2006.