The subject petition is associated with previous Petition PE1234 which called for the instigation of a class (multi-party) action procedure or similar in Scots Law. PE1234 was first presented in committee on 3rd March 2009 but was subsequently closed on 17th November 2009 following favourable recommendations published in the Civil Courts Review Report (Lord Gill) during the intervening period. LLRA agreed closure following advice from Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, the main parliamentary supporter of the petition.
The subject of Court Fees was raised with Mr. MacAskill on 16th June 2010 with the result that he would discuss the matter with the Lord President at their next scheduled meeting. LLRA have not yet received a response.
Various meetings have also been held with Malcolm Chisholm MSP on all of the issues in this petition and a meeting will be held with the Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change on Wednesday 28th March 2012.
Our proposed petition was also the subject of an article by Ian Swanson in The Edinburgh Evening News (March 19th 2012).
LLRA has noted recent debates on the Aarhus Convention and, in particular, the raising of petition PE1372 by Friends of the Earth. Much of the thrust of this petition is similar to that of PE1372, particularly in the areas of affordability and access to potential evidence where this petition provides specific focus. This petition does not in itself request the Government to demonstrate compliance with the Aarhus Convention but notes that, on some criteria, the Government may be in breach thereof.