Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 77, 30th July 2001
SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Parliament is in recess.
SECTION 2 - NEWS
The Sheriff of Lothian and Borders issued a warrant on Friday after Justice Minister Jim Wallace authorised the start of extradition proceedings following a request for Mr Anton Gecas’s extradition by the Lithuanian Government. The extradition request is in connection with genocide and war crimes in Lithuania and Byelorussia (now Belarus) during the Second World War.
The warrant has been passed to Lothian and Borders police for execution.
The next step after execution of the warrant is a hearing before a court of committal consisting of the Sheriff of Lothian and Borders, as required under the Extradition Act 1989. It is not a trial. At the committal hearing the extradition request will be considered and the identity of the fugitive verified. The Sheriff must be satisfied that the extradition request has been correctly authenticated and certified, that the document issued by the Scottish Ministers initiating the proceedings - the Authority to Proceed - relates to an extradition crime and that none of the prohibitions on return apply. The Sheriff can hear representations in support of the request or on behalf of the fugitive.
The decision of the Sheriff can be appealed by the fugitive and by the requesting state.
For an explanation on extradition procedures in Scotland go to: www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/justice/xtradition.asp
AUDIT SCOTLAND TO VALIDATE ORGAN RETENTION INFORMATION
Health Minister, Susan Deacon, has announced that Audit Scotland will independently validate the information provided by Scottish NHS Trusts to the Review Group on the Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem.
This process - similar to work carried out by the Retained Organs Commission in England and Wales, marks the next step forward in the organ review process. It will involve:
Announcing the latest measures, Ms Deacon, called on all NHS Trusts to co-operate fully with Audit Scotland’s work.
"The independent validation marks the next step forward in our review of organ retention in Scottish hospitals – and another major step forward in our concerted efforts to draw a line under this unacceptable, past practice."
The validation work will begin in the autumn and is expected to be complete around the end of October. Once the review has been completed, Audit Scotland will discuss its findings with both the Review Group and parents’ support groups to give them an opportunity to comment on the shortcomings of existing systems and the way forward.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
Parliament is in recess.
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