A brief thread about the powers of the Scottish Parliament to compel witnesses and the delicate topic the penalties for making false statements and declarations. Firstly, there is a helpful paper here https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/24416.aspx 1/7

s23 of the Scotland Act 1998 gives Parliament the power to order any person to attend to give evidence concerning any subject for which any member of the Scottish Government has general responsibility. This power can be used by committees under r12.4.1 of standing orders 2/7

Failure by a witness to attend or failure to answer any question about the subjects specified in the notice instructing them to attend is an offence under section 25(1) of the 1998 Act. There is a defence of “reasonable excuse” which could be of assistance if a witness felt… 3/7

… that they were under a legal obligation not to reveal some information. Section 26(1) of the 1998 Act and the Rule 12.4.2 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders allow the Convenor of a Committee to require a witness to take the oath or affirm before giving evidence. 4/7

Perjury in a court is a crime at common law, but the Scottish Parliament is not a court. It would seem that making a false statement before a parliamentary committee could be an offence under section 44(1) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. 5/7

This is a rarely prosecuted offence. Interestingly s45 creates an offence for any person who “aids, abets, counsels, procures, or suborns another person to commit an offence against section 44 of this Act”. They may be convicted of falsehood in respect of a false statement...6/7

... sworn or made by someone else. These used to be issues of academic interest only, but given the serious consequences of a witness making a false statement would it not be safer if in serious cases the committee had its own to counsel to carefully ask the questions? 7/7