Circulated to MSPs on 8 March 2021 (also available as a PDF: Stage 3 MSP briefing final) Part 1 In line with the Bracadale Review, we agree that sex should be included as an aggravator (amendment 4). The current omission…
Read More Stage 3 briefing on Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
The Stage 3 debate on the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill will take place in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 10 March. The Bill has had an exceptionally difficult passage to date, prompting criticism from a range of organisations,…
Read More Closed doors and closing down debate: policy capture in the Hate Crime Bill
This blog summarises why the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill needs to provide clearer protection for freedom of expression than is currently proposed by the Scottish Government. Some commentators have suggested that the Bill will criminalise making basic…
Read More The thin blue line: What inadequate protection for freedom of expression means in practice
Our response to the Justice Committee's emergency consultation on freedom of expression in Bill is provided below. A PDF version of the briefing can be downloaded here. The Issue Our concern is whether the law will provide a clear point…
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill extends the existing offence of "stirring up hatred" in relation to race, to a wider range of characteristics. As described here, the Justice Committee agreed with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on…
Tomorrow the Justice Committee was due to debate a range of amendments seeking to strengthen the protection for freedom of expression in the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill (background here). This afternoon the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced on Twitter…
Briefing on the need for tailored freedom of expression protection for transgender identity
The Justice Committee will start to consider potential amendments to Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday 2 February. How many more sittings there are will depend on how much time the Committee decides it needs to consider…
Read More Protecting Freedom of Expression: When less is less
During the Stage 1 oral evidence sessions on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, the definition of ‘transgender identity’ was discussed. This briefing traces how ‘cross-dressers’ came to be included within the definition of transgender identity in the…
Read More The inclusion of ‘cross-dressers’ under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
[This submission can also be downloaded as a briefing note.] We welcome the opportunity to respond to the Commission’s consultation on hate crime legislation in England and Wales. Our response draws on our scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s draft Hate…
Read More MBM submission to Law Commission on hate crime laws in England and Wales
