Margaret Anderson Brown v Procurator Fiscal, Dunfermline: HCJ 4 Feb 2000

The power in the Road Traffic Act to force a registered keeper to say who was driving a car denies the driver a right to a fair trial by compelling a driver to give evidence against himself. A refusal to answer is itself a crime. The restriction on such powers must apply at the stage of evidence gathering as much as at trial. It does not apply at the stage where an officer is investigating whether a crime has been committed, but does when he moves on to ask who committed the offence.

Judges:

Lord Allanbridge and Lord Justice General and Lord Marnoch

Citations:

Times 14-Feb-2000, [2000] ScotHC 14

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Road Traffic Act 1988 172, European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Human Rights, Road Traffic, Crime

Updated: 18 May 2022; Ref: scu.78707