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 | | Tuesday, 29 January, 2002, 23:52 GMT Judge slams courts 'farce'  A High Court judge has compared the Scottish courts system to a "Whitehall farce". Lord Bonomy, sitting in Aberdeen, made his remarks when he was asked to adjourn a trial because one of the accused was due in hospital. He criticised the management of the High Court which he said was in a "chronic state". This is the latest in a series of complaints from the judicial bench about delays in bringing cases to court.
Lord Bonomy was appointed last month to head a review aimed at streamlining High Court practices and procedures. The case which caused the outburst from the judge involved two Aberdeen men who were due to face assault and robbery charges. Lord Bonomy was told the case could not proceed as one of the accused was due to go into hospital. The judge told the court he was almost ashamed to be part of a system allowing this to happen. He added: "What we are participating in, seems to me very close to the style of a Whitehall farce." He said it summed up the chronic state of the management of High Court business. Last June, three appeal court judges said prompt remedial action was needed to remove delays in the criminal justice system to avoid breaching human rights laws. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Scotland stories now:  Links to more Scotland stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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