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aiming at any particular body; we were just saying that in general, we have a lot of them. We are very good at setting things up in Scotland but not so good at deciding that things ought to go away again.”


Sir Neil McIntosh added: “It is certain that, if you were starting from scratch, you would not build the Scottish public sector as it exists at the moment. There is an opportunity to take the longer view, but we should not take too long to reach the shape that seems right.”


Justice Committee


7 September by Ross Reid


Members debated the European


Commission Work Programme and heard from Michael Clancy, director of law reform at the Law Society of Scotland, Julia Bateman, head of the UK Law Society’s Brussels offi ce and Ian Duncan, the Scottish Parliament’s European offi cer. When asked what the consequences will be at UK and Scottish levels of the transfer of police and judicial co-operation under the Lisbon Treaty, Bateman said: “The transfer of police and judicial co-operation to the ordinary legislative procedure means


a move to qualifi ed majority voting - in other words, the removal of the national veto. “To counteract that, the UK Government secured an opt-in for police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters in the same way as for civil and family justice. We believe that that is an important safeguard and procedure by which to be able to examine whether the legislative proposal will be of benefi t to the UK and the jurisdictions within it.” She added that the European


Parliament has full democratic involvement and codecision- making powers on police and judicial co-operation matters, whereas previously the process was consultative. Bateman said that improves democratic accountability and scrutiny. Clancy said there are no Scottish


MEPs on the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee or its Legal Affairs Committee, and added: “Although personalities can play a role, when there are no Scottish MEPs on a committee, the job of domestic committees in Edinburgh and London becomes more important.” Duncan said: “On a pragmatic level, the changes will give this committee and other committees greater transparency on the issues that unfold in Brussels, and there will be more time to consider them. For the fi rst time,


with Parliament’s involvement, you will be able to see a series of stages or readings.”


Convener Bill Aitken said he


anticipated there could be problems if an issue arises before a lengthy parliamentary recess there will be no committee facility to deal with it until potentially months later. Duncan responded: “The European


Commission has recognised that problem. It has said that there is a dispensation for national parliaments, such that the eight-week period will not be deemed to include periods of recess, given the very problem that you have highlighted. I am not clear, however, that that extends to regional parliaments.” Cathie Craigie (Lab) asked if Scottish


interests were being adequately considered by the way in which the opt-in procedures currently operate. Clancy said: “One thing that I had thought about mentioning when giving evidence to the European and External Relations Committee was COSAC—the Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union. It was established in the 1980s, and representatives from all the national Parliaments attend it. “The UK has six nominations to COSAC, and they are fi lled by members from the UK Parliament. It might be interesting to see whether some space could be built for the


Scottish Parliament to be engaged with COSAC, either directly or through the medium of the UK members of COSAC. Gathering together all the European committees of all the national Parliaments provides a considerable infl uencing force. At the moment, given the United Kingdom’s role, the voice of the Scottish Parliament is muted.” Asked about the subsidiarity protocol and the Scottish Parliament’s relationship with it, Bateman said: “In the European Union, police authorities and Governments need to work together, with impacts on what are very different legal systems and specifi c legal traditions. A number of problems can be thrown up. The argument might be made to legislate on something at a European level, but the subsidiarity principle will come in and have an impact on different national legal systems. It is a hugely complicated area, but we should all be aware of it and look out for subsidiarity issues.” Nigel Don (SNP) asked if there was much concern Europeans might not understand Scots law. Clancy responded: “All that we can do is to do what we are doing at the moment and more of it, to ensure that the specifi c character and the distinctiveness of the Scottish legal system and legislative arrangements are well known. It is incumbent on us all to do that.”


66 Holyrood 20 September 2010


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