PART 1SENTENCING
The Scottish Sentencing Council
5Approval of sentencing guidelines by High Court
1
Sentencing guidelines have no effect unless approved by the High Court of Justiciary.
2
On submitting sentencing guidelines to the High Court for approval, the Council must also provide the High Court with the assessments referred to in section 3(5).
3
Where the Council submits sentencing guidelines to the High Court for approval, the Court may—
a
approve the proposed guidelines—
i
in whole or in part,
ii
with or without modifications, or
b
reject the proposed guidelines, in whole or in part.
4
Where the High Court—
a
rejects any of the proposed guidelines, or
b
modifies any of them,
the Court must state its reasons for doing so.
5
Sentencing guidelines approved by the High Court take effect on such date as the Court may determine.
6
Different dates may be determined in relation to—
a
different provisions of the guidelines, or
b
different purposes.
7
As soon as possible after the approval of sentencing guidelines by the High Court, the Council must publish—
a
the guidelines as approved (including the date on which they take effect), and
b
the assessments referred to in section 3(5) (revised as necessary to take account of any modifications of the guidelines prior to their approval).
8
The guidelines and assessments are to be published in such manner as the Council considers appropriate.