(109)  Is planning law contrary to human rights?

On 9 May 2001 the House of Lords ruled in the Alconbury case that the English & Welsh planning law procedure under which the Secretary of State for the Environment takes the final decisions on planning matters was not susceptible to challenge under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Their Lordships made a number of adverse comments about the decision in the equivalent Scottish case, County Properties v Scottish Ministers 2000 SLT 965, which held that the equivalent role of the Scottish Executive in Scotland was a denial of the right to a fair trial under Article 6 (see below No 89). These comments followed an intervention in the English case by the Lord Advocate. The County Properties case is currently the subject of a reclaiming motion in the Inner House.