51.—(1) An application to the court by the prosecutor or the defence under section 32(1)(a) of the 1980 Act for the issue of a letter of request shall be made by way of petition in the appropriate form set out in Form 26 of Schedule 1.
(2) An application so made shall be lodged—
(a)where it relates to proceedings in the High Court or to proceedings in respect of which the court where the trial is to take place is not yet known, with the Clerk of Justiciary;
(b)where it relates to proceedings in the sheriff court, with the sheriff clerk,
and shall be accompanied by a proposed letter of request including the matters set out in Form 27 of Schedule 1.
(3) An application made to the High Court may be disposed of by a single judge.
(4) The High Court or the sheriff shall on the application being placed before them—
(a)order intimation on the other party or parties to the proceedings; and
(b)subject to paragraph (5), allow such time for lodging answers as appears appropriate; and
(c)fix a diet for hearing the application and answers (if any).
(5) The High Court or the sheriff may dispense with answers to an application under this rule on cause shown.
52.—(1) The High Court or the sheriff may, after considering the application and answers (if any), either grant the application with or without modification or refuse it.
(2) On granting an application under this rule the High Court or the sheriff, as the case may be, shall—
(a)allow interrogatories to be adjusted summarily;
(b)pronounce a deliverance approving the terms—
(i)of the letter of request to be sent;
(ii)of the interrogatories and cross-interrogatories (if any) to be sent;
(c)if English is not an official language of the body to whom the letter of request is addressed, specify a period within which a translation of the letter and of the interrogatories and cross-interrogatories and of any productions is to be lodged.
53.—(1) The solicitor for the applicant, or if he is unrepresented, the applicant, shall be liable for the expenses of the application.
(2) The High Court or the sheriff, as the case may be, may order the solicitor for the applicant, or the applicant, to consign in court such sum in respect of those expenses as they may specify on or before such date as they may specify.
(3) In the event of the sum so specified not being consigned in court on or before the date so specified, the application shall be treated as having been abandoned.
54.—(1) On the High Court or the sheriff pronouncing a deliverance under rule 52(2), or in a case where a translation requires to be lodged, on the lodging of the translation, the Clerk of Justiciary or the sheriff clerk, as the case may be, shall send the letter of request and relative documents to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for onward transmission to the body to whom the letter of request is addressed.
(2) On sending the letter of request and relative documents to the Secretary of State, the Clerk of Justiciary or the sheriff clerk, as the case may be, shall note the documents sent, to whom they were sent, and the date on which they were sent, on the application or on the record copy indictment.
(3) On the relative documents being returned to him, the Clerk of Justiciary or the sheriff clerk, as the case may be, shall—
(a)note the documents returned, by whom they were returned and the date on which they were returned, on the application or on the record copy indictment; and
(b)intimate those facts to all parties concerned.
55.—(1) The Clerk of Justiciary or the sheriff clerk, as the case may be, shall, subject to paragraph (2), keep the documents mentioned in rule 54(3) in their custody.
(2) In any case where the application was made to the High Court on the ground that the court in which the trial was to take place was not then known the prosecutor shall, as soon as that court is known, inform the Clerk of Justiciary accordingly; and if that court is the sheriff court, the Clerk of Justiciary shall as soon as is practicable send to the sheriff clerk of the sheriff court in question the record of the evidence of the witness or witnesses in question.
(3) In any case where the record of the evidence of a witness is in the custody of the Clerk of Justiciary or a sheriff clerk under this rule and where intimation has been given to that effect to all the parties concerned in the proceedings under rule 54(3), the name and address of that witness and the record of his evidence shall be treated as being within the knowledge of those parties; and no party shall be required notwithstanding any enactment to the contrary—
(a)to include the name of that witness in any list of witnesses;
(b)to include the record of his evidence in any list of productions.
56.—(1) No reference shall be made either directly or indirectly in any proceedings to the evidence, or any part of the evidence, of a witness whose evidence has been taken under rule 52 unless the party seeking to make such reference has made a motion to the court to that effect and that motion has been granted.
(2) The terms of any motion made under paragraph (1) and the grant or refusal of that motion by the court shall be noted by the clerk of court in the record of proceedings.
(3) On any such motion being granted—
(a)the judge may direct copies of the evidence to which he has granted leave to make reference to be provided to the jury by the party making the motion;
(b)the clerk of court shall read the record of that evidence to the jury and shall then record that fact in the record of proceedings.