SKAT - Press Release 17 September 96

SKAT

Press Release 17 September 1996 At a special Legal Meeting held in the Portree Community Centre, Monday evening, September 16, about a hundred SKAT campaigners gathered to gain advice on how to deal with the citations that they have received in respect of non-payment of the Skye Bridge toll. A pleading diet has been set for October 11. Duncan Burd outlined the options and their significance, pointing out that the option of pleading relevancy and competency to the charge did not appear on the citations, only 'guilty' or 'not guilty'. With the tax vs service issue not yet resolved it might take its place as a competency point as well as the competency issue of Human Rights which although not something Scottish courts would look at certainly would be an issue in the European courts. These points are in addition to the relevancy and competency points raised by Andy Anderson, Stella Anderson and Robbie the Pict in their appeals.

He also commented on Andy Anderson's appeal which will be held on October 9 in Edinburgh. He revealed that the date had been moved forward from October 23 to accommodate the presence of the Lord Advocate. "The Lord Advocate rarely appears in the appeal court" ... "For the senior Crown Office official to appear in the appeal court... would tend to suggest that the Crown and perhaps even the government are taking a very serious view of the affair" Duncan Burd said when referring to the significance of the Lord Advocate representing the Crown in the appeal. He also commented that he did not think the Lordships would pronounce on the day but that they might decide to give a written judgement a week or two later. Lord McCluskey has already commented on the appeal points when passing the appeal on for the consideration of a panel of three judges when he termed them as "substantial grounds of appeal".

The SKAT campaign will consider the advice and decide at a future meeting how to capitalise on opportunities presented by the courts inferior and superior.

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Most recent revision, 13 March 1998