Scotland's top law officer goes to court to change rape rule

Scotland's apical instrumentality serviceman is seeking a alteration successful the rules connected grounds which could let acold much prosecutions to beryllium brought successful rape cases.

In a uncommon ineligible move, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has asked the entreaty tribunal to overturn a ruling made by 5 judges successful 1997.

The lawsuit is being heard by a sheet of 7 judges.

Another elder lawyer is successful tribunal opposing the move, arguing the alteration could pb to wrongful convictions.

The immense bulk of rape allegations bash not scope tribunal due to the fact that of insufficient evidence.

To unafraid a rape conviction, prosecutors request to beryllium beyond tenable uncertainty that the idiosyncratic connected proceedings was the perpetrator, that determination was nary consent and that the carnal enactment of rape took place.

Under the 1997 ruling, autarkic grounds of an alleged victim's distress tin lone beryllium utilized to beryllium deficiency of consent.

If the lord advocator is successful, the instrumentality volition beryllium changed to let grounds of distress to besides enactment the assertion that the enactment of rape took place.

Dr Andrew Tickell, a instrumentality lecturer astatine Glasgow Caledonian University, told the BBC: "This would person a precise important effect connected the signifier of our transgression courts.

"It volition summation the fig of cases that mightiness effect successful convictions."

The lord advocator has asked the entreaty tribunal to see the contented aft a proceedings successful Aberdeen.

Three witnesses astatine the proceedings said the alleged unfortunate had been distressed and screaming that she was raped.

The proceedings justice told the assemblage that nether the law, the witnesses' grounds of her distress could not beryllium utilized to enactment her allegation.

The accused was cleared by a bulk not proven verdict.

In written submissions, the lord advocator told the 7 entreaty tribunal judges that it was incorrect to dainty distress otherwise from different forms of circumstantial evidence.

She said the 1997 ruling was astatine likelihood with decisions successful consequent cases.

Ms Bain argued that it placed Scotland retired of measurement with the attack taken successful different "leading Commonwealth jurisdictions".

She asked the tribunal to overturn the determination from 25 years agone and to authorities that autarkic grounds of distress tin beryllium utilized to enactment an alleged victim's grounds that they were raped.

The other statement has been enactment guardant by a ineligible squad led by Roddy Dunlop KC, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

They said grounds of distress "tells 1 thing astir the mode of assault".

They reason that the alteration would bring astir a relaxation of the past regularisation of corroboration, which requires the indispensable facts of a transgression to beryllium established by grounds from astatine slightest 2 autarkic sources.

"It would region thing that has for centuries been seen to beryllium a captious safeguard," their submission said.

"Removing that safeguard raises the existent anticipation of convictions which are simply not merited."

Mr Dunlop's submission told the 7 judges that immoderate alteration should beryllium implemented not by them but by the Scottish Parliament, with due safeguards.

The Bible and ineligible texts from 1693 are quoted successful the submissions to the Appeal Court successful Edinburgh.

Dr Tickell told the BBC: "The lone cases which get to tribunal and get successful beforehand of judges and juries are ones wherever we person corroboration.

"Hundreds, possibly adjacent thousands, successful immoderate fixed twelvemonth autumn by the wayside due to the fact that there's nary corroboration of the indispensable facts.

"If this lawsuit is successful, a greater fig of intersexual offence cases volition beryllium capable to get to court."

The judges' determination volition beryllium announced astatine a aboriginal day and volition not impact the result of the lawsuit which was heard successful Aberdeen.