Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government

application such as whether, despite his/her perception that a miscarriage ofjustice may have occurred, an applicant decided not to appeal at the time orabandoned an appeal and effectively acquiesced in his/her conviction.8.2.16 A SCCRC reference is an extraordinary process designed to deal withexceptional cases where something has gone wrong within the criminal justicesystem. But the form of process acknowledges that it is not enough todemonstrate that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred at the previoustrial. A broader test, having regard to the wider interests of justice, must beapplied before a case can be referred. It must take into account the dictum inArbour Hill Prison, if the evidence adduced at trial was in accordance with thelaw then or at the appellate stage.8.2.17 The Review accepts that, even in the absence of the new wording introducedby the 2010 Act, the SCCRC would normally have taken the principles offinality and certainty into account when applying the interests of justice test.The Review is confident that the SCCRC will continue to do so in theimmediate future. But there have been instances in the past in which the HighCourt has not been entirely happy that the SCCRC has fully considered thisaspect of a case 13 . Retention of the new wording will ensure that it continuesto be regarded as an important factor recognising, if it were not obvious, thatthe possibility of a miscarriage of justice having occurred in the trial processdoes not, of itself, mean that it is in the interests of justice that the relative13 see Hunt v Procurator Fiscal (Inverness) 2008 SCCR 919 and the sentence cases of Kelly v HMAdvocate [2010] HCJAC 20, Lord Kingarth at para 6; and Daffurn v HM Advocate [2010] HCJAC 53,LJG (Hamilton) at para 11, although focusing on miscarriage of justice363