Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010

SCHEDULE 5 WITNESS ANONYMITY ORDERS: TRANSITIONAL

(introduced by section 90(5))

Interpretation

1 In this schedule—

• “commencement” means the day on which section 90 comes into force,

• “pre-commencement anonymity order” means an order made by a court before commencement under any rule of law relating to the power of the court to make an order for securing that the identity of a witness in criminal proceedings is withheld from the accused (or, on a defence application, from other accused),

• “witness anonymity order” has the meaning given by section 271N of the 1995 Act.

Pre-commencement anonymity orders: appeals

2 (1) This paragraph applies where—

(a) the High Court of Justiciary is considering an appeal against a conviction in a case where the trial began before commencement, and

(b) the court from which the appeal lies (“the trial court”) made a pre-commencement anonymity order in relation to a witness at the trial.

(2) The High Court—

(a) may not quash the conviction solely on the ground that the trial court had no power under any rule of law to make the order mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(b), but

(b) must quash the conviction if it considers that, as a result of the order, the accused did not receive a fair trial.