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Leading lawyers warned changes including making it easier to convict people and allowing suspects to be put on trial twice for the same crime are dangerous and misguided.
They also voiced fears that police, prosecutors and ministers are getting too close and urged more distance to properly protect the right to a fair trial.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has revealed he is considering scrapping corroboration rules, which currently mean key evidence in criminal trials has to come from at least two sources.
He is backed by Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland and Scotland’s chief constable Stephen House, who believe the system is weighted towards the accused and say the changes will mean more criminals, particularly sex offenders, being convicted.
But three of Scotland’s most respected lawyers told the Sunday Mail that the brakes need to go on.
Law professor Alistair Bonnington said: “The job of the Lord Advocate is to be independent of government but Frank Mulholland seems to regard his job as more political than legal.
“There is no doubt Scots law is moving backwards. I don’t agree Scots law is the best system in the world but we had a reasonably respectable criminal system.
“The Scottish parliament have done enormous damage to it. It is very alarming corroboration, the main bulwark against injustice, is being thrown away.
“I was on the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and in the cases we looked at, again and again the injustice came down to the police telling lies.
“The majority of police officers are honest and tell the truth, but there is dishonesty and the requirement for corroboration is a protection against that.”
House has said scrapping corroboration will help tackle the conviction rate for rape, which is well below the UK average.
Rape often involves only two witnesses –the accused and complainer – so corroboration is impossible.
But Niall McCluskey QC said: “The proposal to scrap corroboration is a pretty scary thought.
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