A review of the law has today found that fatal accident inquiries should be available for Scots who die abroad.
The recommendation was set out by retired senior judge Lord Cullen, who has been looking into the 33-year-old legislation since the review was ordered in March last year.
MSPs heard calls in Holyrood last month for fatal accident inquiries into Sc
ots deaths abroad. Julie Love, 41, from Glasgow, appeared before the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee after her 23-year-old son Colin died in January.
He had been on a cruise to Venezuela but drowned swimming off the coast while the ship was docked at Margarita Island.
Glasgow SNP MSP Bob Doris, who helped Ms Love bring her campaign to parliament, today said: "Families that are left looking for answers into suspicious or unexplained deaths overseas deserve to have Scottish authorities at least look at these unanswered questions."
No basis exists in Scots law for the Lord Advocate to investigate deaths outside of Scotland.
Lord Cullen recommended an increase in Legal Aid and "modernisation" throughout the system, such as moving away from criminal court settings. Church halls and school buildings can be used for such inquiries, he said.
On Legal Aid, he said: "FAIs should be treated as a special case and the Scottish Government should consider relaxing the limits on legal aid, making it more possible for people to be supported.
Launching his report in Edinburgh, he said the law should be extended to cover deaths abroad in which the person was normally resident in Scotland and the body is repatriated.
"There are quite a lot of things that have to be considered before you get to that stage," he said. "I'm not suggesting for one moment that because a holidaymaker dies, say on a beach in Corfu, there should be an FAI in Scotland simply because he comes back to Scotland. That's not the point. There have to be circumstances justifying an FAI taking place. That's a matter for the discretion of the Lord Advocate."
Likely considerations for an FAI include suspicious deaths and a perceived poorly handled foreign investigation.
Lord Cullen did not consider allowing FAIs into cases of Armed Forces personnel from Scotland who die while on duty abroad.
Politicians have already agreed to change UK law to allow inquiries to take place in Scotland, instead of in England where a coroner investigates the death.
Lord Cullen said written responses resulting from FAIs should be laid before the Scottish and UK parliaments and on the Scottish Government's website.
The report calls for a central FAI team, led by an advocate depute or senior prosecutor, to oversee training and progress of inquiries.
About 60 inquiries are held each year under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiries (Scotland) Act 1976.
