Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004

2 In section 2 (fixing of High Court sittings)—

(a) in subsection (3)—

(i) for the words “attend a” substitute “, or otherwise required to attend, a diet to be held at any”,

(ii) for “his trial” substitute “the diet or, in the case of a trial diet, the trial”,

(iii) for “another sitting of the High Court” substitute “a diet to be held at a sitting of the Court in another place”,

(b) after subsection (3) insert—

“(3C) The judge may proceed under subsection (3) above on a joint application of the parties without hearing the parties and, accordingly, he may dispense with any hearing previously appointed for the purpose of considering the application.”,

(c) in subsection (4), for “cases have been indicted for” substitute “diets have been appointed to be held at”,

(d) in subsection (5), for “any case remains indicted for” substitute “in any case a diet remains appointed to be held at”,

(e) after that subsection insert—

“(6) For the purposes of subsection (3) above—

(a) a diet shall be taken to commence when it is called; and

(b) a trial shall be taken to commence when the oath is administered to the jury.”.