New law watchdog 'in breach of human rights law'

Lord Lester of Herne Hill said the Executive's planned reforms of the way that legal complaints are handled are "flawed" and "wrong in law".

Currently, any complaints against lawyers are handled by the Law Society of Scotland, but under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill, the 10,000 solicitors and advocates will be policed by an independent body - the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission - which will handle most of the thousands of grievances lodged against lawyers every year.

The Law Society has accepted the need for a new complaints watchdog, but has warned that the specific proposals may not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. They sought the opinion of Lord Lester - one of the UK's foremost experts in human rights - who has concluded the absence of any right of appeal to an external court or tribunal against a ruling by the commission would contravene human rights law.

The watchdog's main function will be to handle consumer or service complaints, which comprise about 80 per cent of the grievances made every year about solicitors and advocates.

It will be able to make compensation awards of up to 20,000 against lawyers - a sum which the Law Society says could put some practices out of business; hence the need for a rigorous appeal process to ensure the system is fair.

Douglas Mill, the chief executive of the Law Society, said: "The opinion states that there is insufficient right of appeal for the public and that the proposals compromise the independence of the legal profession in Scotland.

"The society has passed the opinion to the Scottish Executive. A meeting has now been arranged, and there is still time for the Executive and justice ministers to take the society's concerns seriously to correct the bill."

However, an Executive spokesman said the bill had been certified by ministers as compliant with the European convention. "We are considering very carefully the opinion put forward by Lord Lester," he said.