A surprise change of policy from the Crown Office was announced late on Friday, to minimise the inevitable impact of the Salduz case, much to the evident consternation of the Law Society, who hurriedly issued a clarification statement to members of the criminal branch.

The case ruled that the Scottish practice of permitting six hours of detention of criminal suspects before they can access their lawyer was unlawful at EU level. 

A Scottish test case failed to follow the decision last October, although the Salduz decision is expected to be applied in a further case, which may have a substantial domino effect on current and prior detentions which led to conviction.  Some have argued that the criminal justice system will face meltdown as a result of Scotland's persistence in maintaining the outlawed practice. The decision in the "Cadder" case may be ruled retrospectively, rendering thousands of convictions obtained under the Scots practice unsafe.

The recent Crown guidance aims to minimise the fallout by recommending that solicitors be allowed access to suspects immediately.

Oliver Adair, the Law Society of Scotland's Legal Aid Convener, struggled to conceal his annoyance at the Crown's failure to inform the profession in advance, or even to reveal what guidelines it had issued.

"The Society has strongly urged the Crown Office to publish the guidelines to members of the profession as soon as possible," he said.

"The Society has also raised concerns with the Crown Office about the impact on legal aid practitioners and legal aid costs.

"The Society is aware that this is an unexpected development for the profession and has considerable implications for those in legal aid practice. The Society will continue to monitor the situation and will seek to have urgent meetings with all stakeholders to handle any issues as they arise."

The appeal case currently going through the UK Supreme Court dismissed the findings of the Scottish test case.

The Firm's coverage on the Salduz case and its implications can be read here.