Court rules on Named Person judicial review

Date: 22nd January 2015
Category: General measures of implementation, Family Environment and Alternative Care

A Court ruling has refused a petition against the "Named Person" provisions contained in Part 4 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, on all counts.

The petitioners were challenging the provisions which will establish the framework for a scheme creating a public service referred to as the "Named Person" service, which will be provided for every child, from birth until their 18th birthday.

The petitioners stated that the provisions were outside the Scottish Parliament's legislative competence because they were incompatible with some rights guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and with EU law on data protection.

The court decision on the Named Person Judicial Review found:

• Part 4 (Named Persons) of the Act does not contravene ECHR rights, EU law or fundamental common law rights. This applies also to the information sharing provisions of the legislation, which the Court found were not in breach of the Data Protection Act;
• The subject matter of the provisions is within the devolved competence of the Scottish Parliament;
• Several of the petitioners do not have standing to bring the petition.

Find out more about the judgment here.

Read the Scottish Government news release here.

Read the full judgment here.