Subordinate Legislation
Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (Designation of Participating Countries) (Scotland) Order 2008 (Draft)
We move to item 2. I draw members' attention to the first affirmative instrument and the cover note. Prior to the formal procedure in relation to the motion on the draft order, members have an opportunity to ask questions of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and his officials.
I welcome Kenny MacAskill MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice. I also welcome Gerard Bonnar, who is head of the summary justice reform branch in the Scottish Government's criminal procedure division; Dianne Drysdale, who is a policy officer in the criminal procedure division; and Stephen Crilly, who is a solicitor in the criminal justice, police and fire division. I ask Mr MacAskill to speak to the draft order.
Thank you, convener and members of the committee. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the committee's consideration of the draft order. It might be helpful if I explain briefly why this new order under section 51(2)(b) of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 is required.
The European Union and the United States have agreed a mutual legal assistance treaty in order to combat serious crime more effectively by providing for enhancements to co-operation and mutual legal assistance in investigations. In order to take account of obligations under the EU-US treaty, the United Kingdom and the US have amended their previously agreed mutual legal assistance treaty. The draft order will ensure that domestic law reflects what has been agreed between the US, the UK and the EU.
The Home Office intends to lay a draft order making a similar designation in relation to the provisions that apply in England and Wales before the Westminster summer recess. In order that the Scottish Government and the UK Government have the designation in place at approximately the same time, the draft order that is before the committee was laid before the Scottish Parliament on Monday 19 May. That will allow the UK Government to confirm to partners in Europe that both Governments are ready to implement the agreement.
There is a concern that if the terms of the EU-US mutual legal assistance treaty are not implemented across the EU before the Lisbon treaty comes into force—which is currently planned for 1 January 2009—the EU-US treaty will fall.
The purpose of the draft order is to designate the US as a participating country for the purposes of sections 37, 40 and 43 to 45 of the 2003 act. Sections 37 and 40 cover the obtaining of customer and account information. Sections 43 to 45 mirror those provisions and allow the relevant UK authorities to make out-going requests to participating countries.
For those reasons, I invite the committee to recommend that the draft order be approved by Parliament.
As members have no questions, I invite the cabinet secretary to move motion S3M-1942.
Motion moved,
That the Justice Committee recommends that the draft Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (Designation of Participating Countries) (Scotland) Order 2008 be approved.—[Kenny MacAskill.]
Motion agreed to.
Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Amendment) Order 2008 (Draft)
We move on to another draft order. Prior to the formal moving of the motion on the draft order, members have an opportunity to ask questions of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and his officials. I welcome George Burgess, who is the head of the Scottish Government's criminal law and licensing division, and David Johnston, who is a solicitor in the Scottish Government's legal directorate.
I invite the cabinet secretary to speak to the draft order.
I do not propose to speak at length about the draft order, as it is largely self-explanatory. It demonstrates our efforts in relation to the battle against human trafficking, which is an important area of public policy. That abhorrent practice has no place in a civilised society, and the Scottish Government is committed to working to ensure that it is eradicated in Scotland.
Members will recall the debate on 20 March that marked the first anniversary of the United Kingdom's signing of the Council of Europe's Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. We welcomed the Home Secretary's announcement in January that the UK will ratify the convention this year and are working to ensure that all necessary arrangements are put in place in Scotland to support early ratification. The draft order is part of that process. It ensures that there is no loophole in relation to our criminalisation of trafficking for the purposes of organ removal.
Although we are responsible for tackling the problem in Scotland, the issue is clearly one that does not respect national boundaries. The joint Scottish Executive-Home Office action plan sets out more than 60 measures that will be delivered in four key areas: enforcement, prevention, victim support and child trafficking. That was reinforced by the launch last October of the police operation, pentameter 2, which ran until the end of March. Although there is no evidence from that operation of trafficking for the purposes of organ removal, we must remain ever vigilant, and it is better to ensure now that our law is up to the mark than see traffickers escape justice.
I commend the draft order to the committee.
As members have no questions, I invite the cabinet secretary to move motion S3M-1941.
Motion moved,
That the Justice Committee recommends that the draft Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Amendment) Order 2008 be approved.—[Kenny MacAskill.]
Motion agreed to.
I suspend the meeting in order that the officials can change.
Meeting suspended.
On resuming—