Martin Keatings 4 Mid-Scotland and Fife (Personal)
21 Apr,
13 tweets, 2 min read
Lord Advocate has gone rogue again - Backers of #PeoplesAS30 check your emails please. For everyone else here's the breakdown.
Yesterday, the Lord Advocate (Yes! The person who is supposed to defend the Scottish Parliament and who is a member of the Scottish Government) took it upon himself to lodge documents with the court with regards to a case brought in the high court of England...
and try to found upon it as a precedent which the court should consider as part of the people's action. Today, the Advocate General (Yes! The conservative advocate general that represents the Tory Government at Westminster) predictably lodged paperwork that basically says....
"What he said!"
I am no longer making any attempt to hide my contempt for the Lord Advocate who seems to be on a mission to undermine the Scottish Parliament and its powers. The man is a menace to the Scottish Parliament!
I am no longer making any attempt to hide my contempt for the Lord Advocate who seems to be on a mission to undermine the Scottish Parliament and its powers. The man is a menace to the Scottish Parliament!
Counsel has lodged a response and the long and the short of it is that we have (quite rightly) stated that the Lord Advocate has unilaterally (and without notice) taken it upon himself to place new material before the court despite the court having made avizandum...
...which is legal-speak for the judges having already retired to consider the arguments. It's highly strange (or some might argue, highly convenient) that this has happened after parliament broke for the election. Go figure!
There are some things to note about this supposed ruling in England that the Lord Advocate is trying to have the judges consider - it was in reference to a judicial review.
Our case is not a judicial review. It was a ruling from the English Courts - Scotlands legal system is not the same as England's legal system. It was a ruling under English Law - Scottish law is different from English Law; and the material substance of the ruling...
... has diddly squat to do with our case.
A judicial review in England & Wales has no precedential value in Scotland!
There are obviously other arguments we've advanced but that is the broad strokes.
A judicial review in England & Wales has no precedential value in Scotland!
There are obviously other arguments we've advanced but that is the broad strokes.
Doesn't it make you just feel warm and fuzzy that the Lord Advocate (who is supposed to protect the powers and prerogatives of the Scottish Parliament) is using your tax money to undermine the Scottish Parliament.
The man has become more political than I am!
I'll tell you one thing! I make it to Holyrood in this election - we're going to have a very big conversation about the separation of powers and actually obtaining someone who'll defend our national parliament, not undermine it!
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