S2M-5427 Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill

Scottish Parliament

Wednesday 31 January 2007

[THE DEPUTY PRESIDING OFFICER opened the meeting at 14:30]

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Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill

The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid): The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5427, in the name of Cathy Jamieson, on the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill, which is United Kingdom legislation.

16:47
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16:48

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): In a world of shifting boundaries—one thinks of the Balkans, Africa and the middle east—and with the overhang of history from the Holocaust, there are many circumstances in which the ownership of works of art might be open to legitimate question. In the House of Lords, Greville Janner said in relation to taking such disputed items into the UK:

"If it is stolen art, I do not want them to bring it here."—[Official Report, House of Lords, 29 November 2006; Vol 687, c 787.]

We should not want such works here if they are a matter of debate.

Although this is not in the bill, some people propose that museums should be able to bring in works of art from abroad only if they sign up to a code of conduct under which they undertake to investigate the provenance of the works of art in question. That will be a subject for Scottish ministers if this legislative consent motion is agreed to and the House of Lords passes the bill in substantially the form in which it has been presented.

There are a number of amendments on today's order paper in the House of Lords relating to due diligence. However, they were not proceeded with on 12 December, when there was a debate on the matter. I hope that the House of Lords will take tent of what is said here.

There are other issues relating to the drafting of part 6 of the bill that suggest that it is not well drafted. For example, works of art can come in for a period of 12 months. However, if they leave the country for a day, another 12-month period can start. Given that, under due diligence and sequestration in Scotland, there is a specific reference that prohibits forfeiture, someone who is under due diligence in another country can keep popping a work of art in and out of Scotland for a day every 12 months, thereby avoiding their own country's laws. In addition, the bill absolutely excludes seizing works of art that are part of a criminal investigation even if they had on them fingerprints or blood that might be of use in that investigation.

I have concerns about the bill. I hope that we will be able to convey them to the House of Lords and that it will add them to its deliberations.

16:51