PLANS to hold extra weekend courts during COP26 in Glasgow in November have sparked an outcry.
The courts are to be held during the summit due to an “anticipated surge” in cases and will run all weekend, but defence lawyers say they are being expected to work for nothing and may consider a boycott.
The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) has hit out at the plan saying it was announced without any consultation by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) with the criminal bar.
The association said that every official in the court building would receive enhanced pay for working unsocial hours except defence agents because of the way Legal Aid is paid.
“These courts are to deal with an anticipated surge in cases due to the summit, and will run all weekend,” said the SSBA. “Yet again every party involved, court staff, fiscals, police, will all be receiving enhanced pay, while defence agents will be expected to give up their weekend for free.
“This is yet another example of the disdain with which the criminal bar is treated by SCTS, yet without our vital participation, these courts could not function.”
The Edinburgh Bar Association said it shared “the disappointment” of the SSBA.
“Having had eight public holidays taken from us in 2021, we now face another three days of being expected to attend court with no guarantee of any renumeration for members,” said a spokesperson. “Yet again we are entirely left out of any discussion or engagement.”
David Fisken, vice president of the Glasgow Bar Association (GBA) and a member of the SSBA committee, said that he understood police intelligence was that there could be up to 150 arrests a day and that 10 custody courts per day, including weekends, were planned for Glasgow, instead of the usual two. “We were not consulted and in Glasgow it is probably worse than elsewhere because they are going to be on Saturday and Sundays for three weeks in a row,” he said.
“That means 26 days in a row working without any extra pay because there is no extra money as yet although there are discussions ongoing for that now.”
He said a boycott would “certainly” be considered as the St Andrew’s Day and New Year’s Day courts were boycotted but a vote would have to be taken. Fisken added that there might be a boycott anyway even if extra money was made available as lawyers, already coping with a heavy workload, would not want to work at weekends.
A spokesperson for the SCTS said: “As we published last month, COP26 contingency planning is under way for management of court operations.
“Police Scotland and SCTS attended a national seminar hosted by the Law Society to outline the impact of the COP26 conference on July 6. Both organisations will also attend a further Law Society conference on September 15 to update them. In addition, the Law Society are invited to attend an initial operational planning workshop on August 11 which will start to explore the management of custodies during the COP26 conference.
“The potential to have weekend custody courts is a contingency measure which is being developed and is based on the experience of similar past conferences, the level to which they are utilised will depend on the volume of individuals who require to be arrested and then brought before the court. Legal Aid payment for solicitors is a matter for the Scottish Government.”
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