The Scottish Government has announced that Lord Cullen of
Whitekirk is to head up a review of the legislation governing fatal
accident inquiries (FAI's). This will be the first comprehensive
review of this area of the law for more than 30 years.
The aim of an FAI is to establish the time, place and cause of
death as well as the reasonable precautions which could have been
taken and which may have prevented the death. This last aspect will
often be the most important for an employer or an insurer. This
exercise is carried out in the public interest.
The remit of the review is to assess the operation of the 1976
Act "so as to ensure that Scotland has an effective and practical
system of public inquiry into deaths which is fit for the 21st
century." Many practitioners have voiced concerns that the law
requires to be updated significantly to create a more structured
system. The review seeks to address concerns such as delays in
commencing the inquiry, the length of time inquiries take, the lack
of structure and the expense incurred by those participating.
The areas to be considered by the review include:-
• Different models of decision making;
• The framework of procedural rules for FAI's;
• The use of expert evidence;
• The legal representation of bereaved families;
• The status of the recommendations made by a sheriff.
The consultation process with interested parties concludes at
the end of February 2009. It is hoped that the review will
modernise the process giving sheriffs more powers to control
procedural aspects of FAI's and thus minimise the costs to the
public purse, insurers and employers. The current legislation
fulfils an important role in undertaking a fact-finding exercise in
the public interest. However the whole procedure is cumbersome,
expensive and in need of modernisation.
Contributed by Lindsey McGregor