At the first sift stage a High Court judge refused his appeal on the basis of the full-bench decision in McLean v HM Advocate ([2010] SLT 73), which had concluded that there were sufficient safeguards within Scots Law to ensure that there was no breach of Article 6(1) in having no solicitor present.

The leading authority in this area of law is Salduz v Turkey 36391/02 2008 ECHR 1542[4] a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights sitting as a Grand Chamber.

The basic facts of the case are similar to Cadder, but Salduz had challenged on the ground that his "confession" (later retracted) had been given under duress, due to maltreatment during interrogation.

The Supreme Court held that Cadder's rights under Article 6(1) of the ECHR had been breached because he had been denied access to a solicitor before he was interviewed by the police.

[6] Many cases being prosecuted that relied upon section 14 admissions to satisfy the requirements of corroboration have fallen or have been successfully appealed as a result of the Cadder decision.