SCHEDULE 1THE SCOTTISH SENTENCING COUNCIL
1Membership
1
The Council consists of a chairing member, other judicial members, legal members and lay members.
2
The chairing member is the Lord Justice Clerk.
3
The other judicial members comprise—
a
one other person holding the office of judge who normally sits as a judge of the Outer House of the Court of Session or the High Court of Justiciary,
b
one person holding the office of sheriff (other than a sheriff principal),
c
two persons holding the office of justice of the peace or stipendiary magistrate, and
d
one other person holding—
i
any of the offices mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c), or
ii
the office of sheriff principal.
4
The legal members comprise—
a
one prosecutor within the meaning of section 307 of the 1995 Act,
b
one advocate practising as such in Scotland (other than one who is a prosecutor), and
c
one solicitor practising as such in Scotland (other than one who is a prosecutor).
5
The lay members comprise—
a
one constable,
b
one person appearing to the Scottish Ministers to have knowledge of the issues faced by victims of crime, and
c
one other person who is not qualified for appointment as a judicial or legal member.
2Procedure for appointment of members
1
It is for the Lord Justice General, after consulting the Scottish Ministers, to appoint the members of the Council other than the Lord Justice Clerk and the lay members.
2
It is for the Scottish Ministers, after consulting the Lord Justice General, to appoint the lay members.
3
The Lord Justice General may appoint a person to be a member only if the person has been nominated, or otherwise selected for appointment, in accordance with such procedures as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations prescribe.
4
The regulations may—
a
in particular, make provision for or in connection with enabling a person to nominate or select persons suitable for appointment,
b
prescribe different procedures for different categories of membership.
5
The Scottish Ministers must consult the Lord Justice General before making the regulations.
3Persons disqualified from membership
A person is disqualified from appointment, and from holding office, as a member of the Council if the person is or becomes—
a
a member of the House of Commons,
b
a member of the Scottish Parliament,
c
a member of the European Parliament,
d
a councillor of any council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39),
e
a Minister of the Crown, or
f
a member of the Scottish Executive.
4Term of office
1
A member holds office for such period not exceeding 5 years as the Lord Justice General or, as the case may be, the Scottish Ministers may, at the time of appointment, determine.
2
A member ceases to hold office—
a
on becoming disqualified from holding office as a member, or
b
on ceasing to fall within the category of membership under which the member was appointed.
3
A person who has previously been a member may not be re-appointed.
4
In this paragraph, “a member” means a member appointed by the Lord Justice General or the Scottish Ministers.
5Resignation and removal of members
1
A member appointed by the Lord Justice General may resign office by giving notice in writing to the Lord Justice General.
2
A member appointed by the Scottish Ministers may resign office by giving notice in writing to the Scottish Ministers.
3
The Lord Justice General may, by notice in writing, remove a judicial or legal member if satisfied that the member is unfit to be a member by reason of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour.
4
The Scottish Ministers may, by notice in writing, remove a lay member if satisfied that the member is unfit to be a member by reason of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour.
6Suspension of judicial members
A judicial member is suspended from acting as such during any period in which the member is suspended from the judicial office which the member holds.
7Chairing of the Council
1
The Lord Justice Clerk is to chair meetings of the Council.
2
If the Lord Justice Clerk is for any reason unable to chair a meeting, the meeting may be chaired by another judicial member nominated—
a
by the Lord Justice Clerk, or
b
if the Lord Justice Clerk is unable to make such a nomination, by the Council.
3
The Lord Justice Clerk may nominate another judicial member to chair meetings of the Council for a temporary period.
8Committees
The Council may establish committees comprising members of the Council.
9Proceedings
The Council may determine—
a
its own procedure (including the number of members required to constitute a quorum), and
b
the procedure (including the number of members required to constitute a quorum) of any committees established by it.
10Validity of acts
The validity of proceedings or actings of the Council is not affected by—
a
any vacancy in the membership of the Council,
b
any defect in the appointment of a member of the Council, or
c
disqualification of any person from holding office as a member of the Council.
11Ancillary powers
The Council may do anything which it considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with its functions.
12Delegation
1
Any function of the Council, other than the function of submitting sentencing guidelines to the High Court of Justiciary for approval, may be carried out on its behalf by—
a
a member of the Council,
b
a committee, or
c
any other person,
authorised (whether specially or generally) by it for the purpose.
2
Nothing in sub-paragraph (1) prevents the Council from exercising any function delegated under that sub-paragraph.
13Maladministration
In the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (asp 11), in schedule 2 (which lists the authorities subject to investigation under that Act), in Part 2 (entries amendable by Order in Council), after paragraph 50 insert—
50A
The Scottish Sentencing Council.
14Freedom of information
In the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 13), in schedule 1 (which lists the Scottish public authorities subject to that Act), in Part 7 (other authorities), after paragraph 98 insert—
98A
The Scottish Sentencing Council.