THE Scottish government launched its latest Building a New Scotland paper, this time on post-independence justice.

The paper is the 13th to be drafted by senior civil servants under the direction of SNP ministers. While earlier papers in the Building a New Scotland collection tackled subjects such as the economy, immigration and EU membership, the latest instalment offers proposals on the justice system of a post-independence Scotland.

The paper suggests that measures to extend public health approaches in areas such as drugs and gambling could be taken, as well as restoring access to the European Arrest Warrant if, as suggested in paper 7, Scotland were to rejoin the EU.

Launching the paper, SNP Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “Scotland’s justice system has a long and distinguished history and I am proud of the work we have done over many years to strengthen and modernise it.

“However, there is more we could do with independence. Scotland’s police and prosecutors would regain access to tools to pursue criminals across borders which were lost following Brexit, such as the Schengen Information System and the European Arrest Warrant.

“With the power to take our own decisions, we could also enhance and further embed our public health approach to justice issues, extending this to addiction such as drugs and gambling.

“Combined with the broader economic, employment and social security powers that would come with independence — as set out throughout the Building a New Scotland series of papers — we could take a more effective approach to improving justice outcomes, reducing burdens on the justice system and further reducing the number of victims of crime.”