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Review of Fatal Accident Inquiries |
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Friday, 07 March 2008 |
The way judicial inquiries into sudden, suspicious or unexplained deaths are carried out is be reviewed after Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today announced a review of the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act.
The review will be conducted by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk and is expected to take about a year. MacAskill said that with the legislation being over 30 years old, the time was right for a review.
He said:
“Sudden, suspicious or unexplained deaths can have a traumatic effect on the people left behind. The FAI system in Scotland has played an important role in helping provide closure to people affected by these circumstances. However, the legislation on fatal accident inquiries is now over 30 years old and the time is right for a review of how the system works in practice in the light of changes which have been made to other parts of the justice system.
“Although we believe the system generally works well and has served Scotland well in the main, concerns have been raised about it in recent years, particularly about delays in the system and how the implementation of Sheriff's recommendations are monitored. The Scottish Government has listened to these concerns and that is why we want to see a more fundamental examination of the fatal accident inquiry system. This review will establish whether it provides a robust, but proportionate means of judicial inquiry of sudden, accidental, unexpected or unexplained deaths in the public interest and, if not, what should take its place.”
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