Sexual Offences and Justice
Dr Molly Bellamy interviews Sheila Webster Sheila Webster is President of the Law Society Scotland, and the sixth female President out of 54 predecessors. “So we’ve a bit of work to do!” she smiles, when I ask about her plans for the coming year.
S
heila took up office in September 2023, as the Scottish Parliament put out a call for evidence in relation to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: with its contentious Part 6 featuring a pilot scheme for juryless rape trials in Scotland. The purpose of the Bill is to advocate for a more ‘complainer/victim-centred’ system to improve the complainer’s experience. When I met Sheila last year at the beginning of her first year as President, she was bringing together a response from the Law Society to the Bill. She was in sympathy with the spirit of the Bill she said in conversation, as she too is concerned about the gap between the number of cases of rape reported and those that actually go to prosecution. “There has to be a more person-centred approach to our practices in our criminal justice system” she says, “but with the right to a fair trial”. The Bill is based on Lady Dorrian Lord Justice Clerk’s Review Group’s report on ‘Improving the Management of Sexual Offence Cases’. It identifies a pilot scheme for juryless trails, and the setting up of a Specialist Court of National Jurisdiction across the Country, specifically for rape trials to be heard by a single judge. This model would provide trauma-informed training across the court for all staff; Judges, Lawyers, Clerks. It would, according to Lady Dorrian be the most effective way of managing a huge increase in the number of cases of rape being reported in Scotland.
Shiela Webster, President of the Law Society Scotland
This is not truly a pilot… we are dealing with real life cases which as we understand it will not be optional. She was then asked whether the Law Society was supportive of the Bill’s objective to improve the complainer/victim’s experience, not least in relation to trauma-informed training for legal staff, some of whose conduct had been highly criticised by complainer witnesses in an earlier hearing; victims who had found themselves on the receiving end of deeply inappropriate behaviour. Her response was, The Law Society is supportive of the Bill in relation to its traumainformed training. We encourage it, we provide training in it. But there is another way to approach this issue - which is to stop it before it happens, rather than fix it afterwards. When pressed gently on this by one committee member, as a point relating to potential parliamentary regulation of professional legal conduct, she responded, I think this (suggestion) comes too late - I think the Judiciary is (already) stepping in and that there is regulatory action. I think the Judiciary, and we as the Law Society are involved in this action and we see the most important thing (as being) to stop it happening in the first place. And finally, when asked what victims and witnesses stand to lose by there not being a jury – she responded sharply, Diversity! A jury of their peers!
Since my first meeting with Sheila, I have been following the recorded Hearings of the Scottish Parliament’s Committee enquiry that are central to Stage 1 of the Bill. On 24th January 2024 Sheila herself appeared before the Committee to present her evidence as the Law Society President. I found her original dual sympathy, for the spirit of the Bill and concern for the justice system informing a clear position at the Hearing. When asked by one committee member about her views on Lady Dorrian’s proposal for a specialist sex crimes court, Sheila responded respectfully, I think we understand why the Lord Justice Clerk is working for that change… I’m not sure it will deliver or that it is the solution to the problem. I think her working group itself was divided on this question so whilst we recognise what Lady Dorrian is trying to do we remain unconvinced across the profession. When asked what she thought about the pilot for juryless rape trials she countered, 10 | LegalWomen
