Corroboration rule call rejected

Oct 16 2012

High Court judges have rejected proposals to abolish the centuries-old requirement for corroboration in criminal prosecutions.

In a major review of Scots criminal law carried out last year, judge Lord Carloway said the rule, which ensures all key evidence is backed by two sources, was "archaic" and no longer had a place in a modern legal system.

All other judges said they disagreed with the conclusion to abolish the current rule as they released their response to a public consultation launched by the Scottish Government on the review.

The Senators of the College of Justice said corroboration, unique to Scotland, provided a "major safeguard" against miscarriages of justice.

Judges also said removing the rule would lead to "decreasing confidence in the legal system" and to lower rates of conviction generally.

They said: "In our view, it is often difficult to assess the true facts on the basis only of the evidence of one witness. A witness may be credible and plausible, yet not be telling the truth (or the whole truth).

"The Scottish courts have on many occasions been grateful for the requirement of corroboration, which in our view provides a major safeguard against miscarriages of justice."

They added: "One particularly anxious area is that of alleged sexual offences, where (without corroboration) the issue becomes one of the complainer's word against the accused's. Our concern is that the abolition of corroboration may result in miscarriages of justice."

Judges expressed concern about police procedure if the need for corroboration was removed.

"We are also concerned that the abolition of corroboration may result in less diligent police investigation pre-trial: knowing that corroboration is not required, there may be a relaxation in the search for supporting evidence (even though such may well exist)," they said.