Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975

367 Powers of sheriff sitting summarily.S

(1)A sheriff sitting summarily for the purpose of hearing a charge against, or an application relating to, a person who is believed to be a child may, if he thinks fit to do so, proceed with the hearing and determination of the charge or application, notwithstanding that it is discovered that the person in question is not a child.

(2)When a sheriff sitting summarily has remanded a child for information to be obtained with respect to him, any sheriff sitting summarily in the same place—

(a)may in his absence extend the period for which he is remanded so, however that he appears before a sheriff or a justice at least once in every two days;

(b)when the required information has been obtained, may deal with him finally;

and where the sheriff by whom he was originally remanded has recorded a finding that he is guilty of an offence charged against him, it shall not be necessary for any court which subsequently deals with him under this subsection to hear evidence as to the commission of that offence, except in so far as it may consider that such evidence will assist the court in determining the manner in which he should be dealt with.

(3)Any direction in any enactment that a charge shall be brought before a juvenile court shall be construed as a direction that he shall be brought before the sheriff sitting as a court of summary jurisdiction, and no such direction shall be construed as restricting the powers of any justice or justices to entertain an application for bail or for a remand, and to hear such evidence as may be necessary for that purpose.