Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 271N is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 04 March 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
(1)A court may make an order requiring such specified measures to be taken in relation to a witness in criminal proceedings as the court considers appropriate to ensure that the identity of the witness is not disclosed in or in connection with the proceedings.
(2)The court may make such an order only on an application made in accordance with sections 271P and 271Q, if satisfied of the conditions set out in section 271R having considered the matters set out in section 271S.
(3)The kinds of measures that may be required to be taken in relation to a witness include in particular measures for securing one or more of the matters mentioned in subsection (4).
(4)Those matters are—
(a)that the witness's name and other identifying details may be—
(i)withheld,
(ii)removed from materials disclosed to any party to the proceedings,
(b)that the witness may use a pseudonym,
(c)that the witness is not asked questions of any specified description that might lead to the identification of the witness,
(d)that the witness is screened to any specified extent,
(e)that the witness's voice is subjected to modulation to any specified extent.
(5)Nothing in this section authorises the court to require—
(a)the witness to be screened to such an extent that the witness cannot be seen by the judge or the jury,
(b)the witness's voice to be modulated to such an extent that the witness's natural voice cannot be heard by the judge or the jury.
(6)An order made under this section is referred to in this Act as a “witness anonymity order”.
(7) In this section “specified” means specified in the order concerned. ]
Textual Amendments
F1Ss. 271N-271Z inserted (28.3.2011) by Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), ss. 90(1), 206(1); S.S.I. 2011/178, art. 2, sch.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Ss. 271N-271Z applied (28.3.2011) by Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), ss. 90(3)(4), 206(1); S.S.I. 2011/178, art. 2, sch.
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