Reforming Scottish Criminal Procedure: In Search of Process Values

Pamela R. Ferguson

doi:10.15845/bjclcj.v4i2.1073

Reforming Scottish Criminal Procedure: In Search of Process Values

Pamela R. Ferguson

Dundee Law School

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Abstract

Recent proposals to reform Scottish criminal procedure are motivated by considerations of efficiency and accurate fact-finding, and there is little attempt to offer a normative account. This paper describes these proposals and contends that their emphasis on finding ‘the truth’ is misplaced on two distinct bases: (1) it equates erroneous acquittals to wrongful convictions, thus fails to uphold a fundamental tenet of criminal procedure, namely the particular importance of protecting the innocent against wrongful conviction; and (2) it fails to recognise the importance of non-instrumental process values which are at the heart of the adversarial criminal trial. The paper suggests that it is only by adhering to these process values that the state maintains – and demonstrates that it maintains – its moral authority to condemn and punish offenders.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	167-195
Number of pages	29
Journal	Bergen Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
Volume	4
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.15845/bjclcj.v4i2.1073
Publication status	Published - 12 Jan 2017

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

Return Directive
entry ban
illegal migrant
criminal law sanctions
crimmigration
expulsion

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10.15845/bjclcj.v4i2.1073Licence: CC BY

Final Published Version
Copyright (c) 2017 Pamela Ferguson. This is an Open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), permitting all use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Final published version, 361 KBLicence: CC BY

Ferguson, Pamela
- Dundee Law School - Emeritus Professor
Person: Honorary

Cite this

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KW - entry ban

KW - illegal migrant

KW - criminal law sanctions

KW - crimmigration

KW - expulsion

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Reforming Scottish Criminal Procedure: In Search of Process Values

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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Ferguson, Pamela

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