A senior judge has recommended that the law is changed to allow fatal accident inquiries to be held into the deaths of all Scots abroad.
Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, who carried out a review of the legislation, says the lord advocate should be given the discretion to order a probe into the circumstances of a violent or unnatural death if they are dissatisfied with how it has been handled by the overseas authorities.
His 86-page report, published yesterday, said: “There should be an extension to the act to make provision for the lord advocate to have a power to apply for a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of persons normally resident in Scotland where the body is repatriated to Scotland.”
The news was warmly welcomed by Aberdeen mother Jean Gibson, whose son Graham died in the San Eugenio area of Tenerife on July 24 after his bag crushed his windpipe as he jumped over a bridge handrail to get to a bus stop.
She and her husband, George, want a fatal accident inquiry carried out in Scotland because they still do not know the full facts behind the 36-year-old’s death.
Mrs Gibson, of Don Place, Dyce, said: “I am really pleased with Lord Cullen’s recommendation and hope something might be done for other families because we have gone through an absolute nightmare.
“When we got to Tenerife there was no one there to help us and we do not know to this day what actually happened to Graham.
“We cannot put this thing to rest as all the death certificates are all in Spanish.
“They do not tell you the time of death and exactly how he died, it is just awful.
“If this happened to other families I would like it if someone was waiting at the airport to help.”
Mrs Gibson, 66, said the family had to pay for her son’s funeral over the phone before flying out to Tenerife, where he had been living for four years and latterly working as a sales rep.
His ashes have been buried in Dyce Cemetery and a headstone is being erected this week.
Mrs Gibson and her husband are strong supporters of a petition lodged at Holyrood calling for a change in the law.
It was set up by Glasgow woman Julie Love, whose 23-year-old son, Colin, drowned when swimming in Venezuela in January.
Lord Cullen, a former lord president of the Court of Session and lord justice general of Scotland, said his recommendation was not “an open door” to holding inquiries into all deaths abroad, however.
“I am not suggesting for one moment that if a holidaymaker dies on a beach in Corfu there should be an FAI in Scotland simply because his body comes back,” he added.
“There would have to be circumstances justifying why one should take place like suspicious circumstances and suggestions that an investigation carried out by local justice authorities was not satisfactory.”
Liberal Democrat chief whip Mike Rumbles, a former Army officer, said he was disappointed that Lord Cullen’s report does not address calls for the inquests of Scottish soldiers killed in action abroad to be held in Scotland instead of Oxford.
Diane Douglas, of Stewart Terrace, Aberdeen, whose 22-year-old son, Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, died in January 2006 after being shot by a sniper in Iraq, is backing a change in the law.
Lord Cullen said he never intended examining the issue because it was being analysed by the UK Government before his work started.
Politicians have agreed to change UK law to allow inquiries to take place in Scotland.
Labour’s Justice spokes-man, Richard Baker, said: “Lord Cullen’s examination of fatal accident inquiries is very detailed and raises a number of important issues.
“I welcome his report and will certainly look positively at his recommendations.”
Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken added: “Overall the proposals are extremely sensible and I look forward to the Scottish Government's response.”
A spokeswoman for the Crown Office said Lord Cullen’s report would be considered very carefully.
She added: “Earlier this year Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini announced a new deaths unit will be established to investigate the most complex deaths.
“This unit, which will start work in 2010, will also investigate Scottish military deaths abroad, when jurisdiction to investigate these deaths is established.”