The Scottish court in the Netherlands was a special sitting of the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base, Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988. A school on the former base was converted into a judicial court for the trial.

Neutral country

The court was established in a neutral country as part of a deal between Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

, before Gaddafi would allow the

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

of the two accused.

Special jurisdiction on territory

Under a bilateral

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the premises of the court were, for the duration of the trial and any subsequent

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

, under the authority and control of the court. Since the arrangement had been called for by

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1192 UN Security Council Resolution 1192, adopted unanimously on 27 August 1998, after recalling resolutions 731 (1992), 748 (1992) and 883 (1993), the council welcomed an initiative to try two Libyan suspects accused of the bombing of Pan Am Flig ...

, it was given effect in Scots law by an

Order-in-Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Ki ...

under the United Nations Act 1946. Dutch law still theoretically applied to the area, but, barring an emergency, the Dutch authorities were banned from entering the premises and the court had the authority to enact regulations that superseded Dutch law when necessary for the execution of the trial, and to jail people for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cou ...

. The court itself, as well as people involved in the trial (officials of the court, accused, witnesses, solicitors, etc.), also enjoyed total or partial immunity from Dutch law.

Verdict

The court convicted

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Tripoli, Kingdom of Libya , death_date = , death_place = Tripoli, Libya , cause = Prostate cancer , nationality = Libyan , race = Arab , g ...

of 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing on 31 January 2001. The second accused,

Lamin Khalifah Fhimah Lamin Khalifah Fhimah ( ar, الأمين خليفة فحيمة, ''al-Amīn Khalīfah Faḥīmah''; born 4 April 1956) is a former station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines at Luqa Airport, Malta. On 31 January 2001, he was acquitted of 270 count ...

, was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. Megrahi's appeal was also held at the court (the High Court of Justiciary is the highest

court of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

in the Scottish

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing othe ...

system), and was rejected on 14 March 2002. The site was then decommissioned and returned to the Dutch government. Megrahi served his sentence at

Greenock prison HMP Greenock is a prison located in Greenock, Scotland, serving designated courts in western Scotland by holding male prisoners on remand, and short-term convicted prisoners. It also provides a national facility for selected prisoners serving 1 ...

Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hi ...

. From September 2003, Megrahi's conviction was under review by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which reported its findings on 28 June 2007 and granted Megrahi leave for a second appeal against conviction. Diagnosed with prostate cancer and with an estimated three- to six-month life expectancy, Megrahi was released from Greenock prison in August 2009 after serving eight years, through a decision on compassionate grounds by the Scottish justice minister,

Kenny MacAskill Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish ...

. He returned to Libya, where he died in May 2012.

References

{{coord, 52, 7, 28.87, N, 5, 16, 21.90, E, type:landmark, display=title 2000 establishments in the Netherlands 2001 disestablishments in the Netherlands 2000 in British law 2001 in British law 2000 in Scotland 2001 in Scotland Buildings and structures in Utrecht (province) Pan Am Flight 103 Scottish case law Courts of Scotland Scottish criminal law Defunct organisations based in Scotland High Court of Justiciary Netherlands–United Kingdom relations Netherlands–United States relations Libya–United Kingdom relations Libya–United States relations Libya–Netherlands relations United Kingdom–United States relations Zeist

Neutral country

Special jurisdiction on territory

Verdict

See also

References