Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975

444 Manner and time of appeal. S

[F1 (1) An appeal under section 442(1)(a)(i) or (iii) or (b) of this Act shall be by application for a stated case, which application shall—

(a) be made within one week of the final determination of the proceedings;

(b) contain a full statement of all the matters which the appellant desires to bring under review and where the appeal is also against the sentence [F2 or disposal or order], a statement of that fact; and

(c) be signed by the appellant or his solicitor and lodged with the clerk of court;

and a copy of the application shall within the period mentioned in paragraph (a) above be sent by the appellant to the respondent or the respondent’s solicitor.

(1A) The clerk of the court shall enter in the record of the proceedings the date when an application under subsection (1) above was lodged.

(1B) The appellant may, at any time within the period of three weeks mentioned in subsection (1) of section 448 of this Act, or within any further period afforded him by virtue of subsection (6) of that section, amend any matter stated in his application or add a new matter; and he shall intimate any such amendment, or addition, to the respondent or the respondent’s solicitor.]

(2) Where such an application has been made by the person convicted, and the judge by whom he was convicted dies before signing the case or is precluded by illness or other cause from doing so, it shall be competent for the convicted person to present a bill of suspension to the High Court and to bring under the review of that court any matter which might have been brought under review by stated case.

(3) Without prejudice to any other power of relief which the High Court may have, where it appears to that court on application made in accordance with the following provisions of this section, that the applicant has failed to comply with any of the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, the High Court may direct that such further period of time as it may think proper be afforded to the applicant to comply with any requirement of the aforesaid provisions.

(4) Any application for a direction under the last foregoing subsection shall be made in writing to the Clerk of Justiciary and shall state the grounds for the application, and notification of the application shall be made by the appellant or his solicitor to the clerk of the court from which the appeal is to be taken, and the clerk shall thereupon transmit the complaint, documentary productions and any other proceedings in the cause to the Clerk of Justiciary.

(5) The High Court shall dispose of any application under [F3 subsection (3) of] this section in like manner as an application to review the decision of an inferior court on a grant of [F4 bail], but shall have power—

(a) to dispense with a hearing; and

(b) to make such enquiry in relation to the application as the court may think fit;

and when the High Court has disposed of the application the Clerk of Justiciary shall inform the clerk of the inferior court of the result.

(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F5

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 444(1)(1A)(1B) substituted for s. 444(1) by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 3 para. 3(a), Sch. 6 para. 7

F2 Words in s. 444(1)(b) inserted (27.7.1993) by 1993 c. 36, s. 79(13), Sch. 5 Pt. I para. 2(12)

F3 Words inserted by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 3 para. 3(b), Sch. 6 para. 7

F4 Words substituted by Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 4, SIF 39:1), Sch.1 para. 10

F5 S. 444(6) repealed by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 8