ABSTRACT
In Chapter 6, we outlined the different mechanisms for holding the prison system to account which exist in Scotland, distinguished three different models of accountability and assessed the effectiveness of petitions to the Secretary of State which exemplify a bureaucratic form of accountability. In Chapter 7, we analysed the role of the Prisons Inspectorate which embodies a professional form of accountability and, in this chapter, we conclude our review of accountability in the Scottish prison system through an analysis of applications from individual prisoners to the European Commission on Human Rights. As we have already pointed out in Chapter 6, only two applications for judicial review have to date been heard in the Scottish courts and less than ten cases involving Scottish prisoners have been investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. Since there has been a considerably larger number of applications from prisoners held in Scotland to the European Commission on Human Rights, and since these exemplify a juridical form of accountability, an analysis of these applications will enable us to assess the effectiveness of this type of accountability.
