This might be of interest for our Scottish members - and law geeks in general.
Judges at the UK Supreme Court have declared the Scottish Government's ‘state snooper’ Named Person scheme to be illegal.
The controversial legislation has been condemned for breaching the human rights of families.
It is the first time the Supreme Court has prevented a major piece of legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament from coming into force.
Unanimous decision
In a historic verdict, five of the UK’s most senior judges, including two Scots, unanimously overturned decisions by the courts in Edinburgh on the legality of the Named Person provisions of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014
The judges branded the law “defective” for breaching the article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees everyone’s “right to a private and family life”.
They declared Holyrood had exceeded its powers by making a law which allowed public bodies to share sensitive private information about children and parents without consent.
The judges stated:
“The sharing of personal data between relevant public authorities is central to the role of the named person … the operation of the information sharing provisions will result in interferences with the rights protected by article 8 of the ECHR” (Para. 78). Because of the lack of safeguards “the overriding of confidentiality is likely often to be disproportionate” (Para. 100).
They concluded:
“…the information sharing provisions of Part 4 of the Act are not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament” (Para. 106).
“…since the defective provisions are not within the legislative competence of the Parliament, they cannot be brought into force.” (Para. 109)
Privacy protected
NO2NP
(No To Named Person) are delighted with the decision. "It proves that the concerns we all had about this scheme were properly founded. It was intrusive, incomprehensible and illegal.
The judges state quite clearly that the information sharing provisions of the Act are incompatible with the rights of children, young persons and parents under article 8 of the ECHR because they are not in accordance with the law.
The Scottish Government has been blocked from implementing this scheme on August 31. It must scrap its plan for state snoopers with intrusive data sharing powers. It has to go back to the legislative drawing board if it wants to try again.
But they would have to come up with a much more limited scheme that actually respects the rights of children and parents. The Big Brother scheme is history.
This is wonderful news for mums, dads and children all across Scotland who no longer have to worry about this unjustified invasion of their private lives. The court has sided with ordinary families and put the Scottish Government back in its place.
The judgment emphasises the importance of article 8 and, in a withering verdict on the Government flagship legislation, said:
“The first thing that a totalitarian regime tries to do is to get to the children, to distance them from the subversive, varied influences of their families, and indoctrinate them in their rulers’ view of the world. Within limits, families must be left to bring up their children in their own way.” (Para. 73)
They also quoted from a US Supreme Court judgement which states:
“The child is not the mere creature of the state” (para. 73).
The decision by the judges is a devastating critique of this fatally flawed scheme. It is holed below the water line. Let us hope it sinks without trace.
The Government needs to have the humility to admit defeat and ditch the scheme forever."
The full Judgment can be read here -
The Christian Institute and others (Appellants) v The Lord Advocate (Respondent) (Scotland) UKSC 51 (28 July 2016) What is the named person scheme? Revealed: what can happen when a Named Person reports on your children 
