Pensioners Over Prisoners: Amending the Scotland Act in Response to Somerville and Napier

Abstract

Comments on the political response to the House of Lords ruling in Somerville v. Scottish Ministers that claims brought under the Scotland Act 1998 alleging that an administrative action violated the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 were not subject to the same one-year limitation period as claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 alleging that a public authority had breached the Convention. Evaluates the solution selected for the Convention Rights Proceedings (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2009, and compares the approaches of other jurisdictions concerning the application of a limitation period to fundamental rights claims.

Keywords: Judicial Review, European Convention on Human Rights, Scotland, Devolution, Damages