What the total cost to it has been of Scott Davidson's case against it in respect of alleged infringement of his rights under the European …

Mr Davidson lodged a petition in October 2001 for judicial review of an alleged decision of the Scottish ministers to detain him in "slopping out" conditions, in breach of Article 3 of the ECHR. So far, there has been one hearing in the Outer House of the Court of Session and two hearings in the Inner House. The legal issues which have arisen in this case such as impartiality of the judiciary and the rights of courts to make interim orders against the Scottish ministers are significant and go beyond the ECHR compatibility of the conditions of the prisoner's detention.Preparation for court proceedings is done by legal and administrative staff within the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Prison Service as part of their normal duties. Cost information is not available disaggregated to individual cases. The situation is the same for the courts. The court proceedings have been dealt with as part of the normal business of the courts involved. Information about legal aid costs is also not available for individual cases.Counsels' fees so far incurred by the Executive are in the region of £95,000.