Act of Adjournal (Criminal Procedure Rules Amendment No. 5) (Miscellaneous) 2007

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Act of Adjournal)

This Act of Adjournal makes miscellaneous amendments to the Criminal Procedure Rules 1996 (S.I. 1996/513) (“the Rules”).

Paragraph 2(2) inserts a new rule 15.17 requiring parties to lodge copies of any part of a transcript of proceedings upon which they are relying in any appeal under section 106 or 108 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and to intimate copies to the other parties. Copies should be lodged 7 days before any procedural hearing and 21 days before the date of the hearing at which the party intends to rely upon the transcript.

Paragraph 2(3) inserts a new Chapter prescribing procedure for applications in the investigation of Revenue and Customs offences. The applications are for production orders or to vary or discharge such orders, for Revenue and Customs warrants, or for an order in relation to the failure of officers to provide a record of, access to, or copies of documents or things removed under a production order or Revenue and Customs warrant within a reasonable time. These amendments are in consequence of new sections inserted into the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (c. 39) by the Finance Act 2007 (c. 11). There are also new forms of petition and minutes for the various applications under the new Chapter inserted into the appendix: see paragraph 2(4)(b).

Paragraph 2(4)(a) amends the vulnerable witness application form (Form 22.1A) to allow it to apply in circumstances where the adult vulnerable witness is to give evidence at or for the purposes of proceedings under section 210C of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 on an objection to a risk assessment report.