http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/asp/2004/5

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2004/5/section/2/2005-04-01

Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision, in connection with proceedings in the High Court of Justiciary, for the holding of preliminary hearings prior to the trial diet; to make new provision as to the continuation of the trial diet in proceedings in the High Court; to amend the time limit for commencement of the trial in proceedings in the High Court; in connection with solemn criminal proceedings generally, to amend the consequences of failure to comply with time limits, to make further provision as to citation of the accused, witnesses and jurors, to require any solicitor engaged by the accused to notify the court and the prosecutor of his engagement, withdrawal and dismissal, to make new provision as to the procedure where the trial diet does not proceed, to enable the trial to be conducted in the absence of the accused in certain circumstances, to provide for the apprehension, detention and release on bail of obstructive witnesses, to enable notices and other documents to be served on the accused through his solicitor, to restate with modifications certain provisions in relation to the raising of preliminary pleas and issues and to make new provision as to the adjournment and alteration of diets; to enable persons to be released on bail subject to a requirement that their compliance with conditions of bail restricting their movements be remotely monitored; to make provision entitling the prosecutor to be heard on certain applications relating to bail; to make further provision as to the matters to be dealt with by the sheriff court at a first diet in solemn proceedings; to make new provision as to the procedure to be followed by the court in sentencing offenders who have pled guilty; to increase from three to five years the maximum extended sentence that may be imposed by a sheriff on persons convicted on indictment of certain violent and sexual offences; to make new provision as to the citation of witnesses for precognition by the prosecutor; to clarify when criminal proceedings are finally determined for the purposes of section 10 of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 5); and for connected purposes.

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Statute Law Database

2017-08-28

Expert Participation

2005-04-01

Part 1Proceedings in the High Court

Preliminary hearings

I12Written record of state of preparation in certain cases

After section 72D of the 1995 Act (as inserted by section 1(3) of this Act) insert—

72EWritten record of state of preparation in certain cases
1
This section applies where, in any proceedings in the High Court, a solicitor has notified the Court under section 72F(1) of this Act that he has been engaged by the accused for the purposes of the conduct of his case at the preliminary hearing.
2
The prosecutor and the accused’s legal representative shall, not less than two days before the preliminary hearing—
a
communicate with each other with a view to jointly preparing a written record of their state of preparation with respect to their cases (referred to in this section as “the written record”); and
b
lodge the written record with the Clerk of Justiciary.
3
The High Court may, on cause shown, allow the written record to be lodged after the time referred to in subsection (2) above.
4
The written record shall—
a
be in such form, or as nearly as may be in such form;
b
contain such information; and
c
be lodged in such manner,
as may be prescribed by Act of Adjournal.
5
The written record may contain, in addition to the information required by virtue of subsection (4)(b) above, such other information as the prosecutor and the accused’s legal representative consider appropriate.
6
In this section—
“the accused’s legal representative” means—
a
the solicitor referred to in subsection (1) above; or
b
where the solicitor has instructed counsel for the purposes of the conduct of the accused’s case at the preliminary hearing, either the solicitor or that counsel, or both of them; and
“counsel” includes a solicitor who has a right of audience in the High Court of Justiciary under section 25A (rights of audience in various courts including the High Court of Justiciary) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 46).