Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019

9 Further limitations on sections 6 and 7

(1) Section 6 does not apply to the determination of any issue, or to the admission or requirement of any evidence, relating to relevant behaviour of a person, or to circumstances ancillary to such behaviour, in any proceedings for the time being mentioned in subsection (2).

(2) Those proceedings are—

(a) any criminal proceedings (including any appeal or reference in a criminal matter),

(b) any proceedings under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or on appeal from any such proceedings,

(c) any proceedings on an application under section 2, 4 or 5 of the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 or in any appeal under section 6 of that Act,

(d) any proceedings relating to parental responsibilities or parental rights (within the meaning of section 1(3) and section 2(4) respectively of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995), guardianship, adoption or the provision by any person of accommodation, care or schooling for children under the age of 18 years,

(e) any proceedings under Part II of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011,

(f) any proceedings in which the person is a party or a witness, provided that, on the occasion when the issue or the admission or requirement of the evidence falls to be determined, the person consents to the determination of the issue or, as the case may be, the admission or requirement of the evidence despite the provisions of section 6,

(g) in any proceedings brought under Part 7 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (criminal memoirs etc.).

(3) Despite the provisions of section 6, a judicial authority in judicial proceedings (not being proceedings mentioned in subsection (2))—

(a) may admit or, as the case may be, require evidence relating to relevant behaviour of a person or to circumstances ancillary to such behaviour, and

(b) may determine any issue to which that evidence relates,

if the judicial authority is satisfied, in the light of any considerations which appear to it to be relevant (including any evidence which has been or may subsequently be put before it), that justice cannot be done in the case except by admitting or requiring that evidence.

(4) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations—

(a) modify subsection (2) to—

(i) add proceedings to those mentioned in that subsection,

(ii) vary a description of such proceedings,

(iii) remove proceedings from that subsection,

(b) make provision excluding the application of section 6 in relation to such other proceedings as may be specified in the regulations to such extent and for such purposes as may be so specified,

(c) make provision excluding or modifying the application of section 7(1) in relation to questions put in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations,

(d) provide for such exceptions from the provisions of section 7(2) and (3) as seem to them appropriate, in such cases or classes of case, and in relation to relevant behaviour of such a description, as may be specified in the regulations.