Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975

448 Adjustment and signature of case. S

[F1 (1) Subject to subsection (6) below, within three weeks of the issue of the draft stated case under section 447 of this Act, each party shall cause to be transmitted to the court and to the other parties or their solicitors a note of any adjustments he proposes be made to the draft case or shall intimate that he has no such proposal:

Provided that adjustments proposed shall relate to evidence heard (or purported to have been heard) at the trial and not to such additional evidence as is mentioned in section 442(2) of this Act.

(2) Subject to subsection (6) below, if the period mentioned in subsection (1) above has expired and the appellant has not lodged adjustments and has failed to intimate that he has no adjustments to propose, he shall be deemed to have abandoned his appeal; and subsection (4) of section 446 of this Act shall apply accordingly.

(2A) If adjustments are proposed under subsection (1) above or if the judge desires to make any alterations to the draft case there shall, within one week of the expiry of the period mentioned in that subsection or as the case may be of any further period afforded under subsection (6) below, be a hearing (unless the appellant has, or has been deemed to have, abandoned his appeal) for the purpose of considering such adjustments or alterations.

(2B) Where a party neither attends nor secures that he is represented at a hearing under subsection (2A) above, the hearing shall nevertheless proceed.

(2C) Where at a hearing under subsection (2A) above—

(a) any adjustment proposed under subsection (1) above by a party (and not withdrawn) is rejected by the judge; or

(b) any alteration . . . F2 proposed by the judge is not accepted by all the parties,

that fact shall be recorded in the minute of the proceedings of the hearing.

(2D) Within two weeks of the date of the hearing under subsection (2A) above or, where there is no hearing, within two weeks of the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (1) above, the judge shall (unless the appellant has been deemed to have abandoned the appeal) state and sign the case and shall append to the case—

(a) any adjustment, proposed under subsection (1) above, which is rejected by him, a note of any evidence rejected by him which is alleged to support that adjustment and the reasons for his rejection of that adjustment and evidence; and

(b) a note of the evidence upon which he bases any finding of fact challenged, on the basis that it is unsupported by the evidence, by a party at the hearing under subsection (2A) above.]

[F3 (3) As soon as the case is signed under subsection (2D) above the clerk of court—

(a) shall send the case to the appellant or his solicitor and a duplicate thereof to the respondent or his solicitor; and

(b) shall transmit the complaint, productions and any other proceedings in the cause to the Clerk of Justiciary.

(4) Subject to subsection (6) below, within one week of receiving the case the appellant or his solicitor, as the case may be, shall cause it to be lodged with the Clerk of Justiciary.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, if the appellant or his solicitor fails to comply with subsection (4) above the appellant shall be deemed to have abandoned the appeal; and subsection (4) of section 446 of this Act shall apply accordingly.]

(6) 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 [F4 (1) or] (4) 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.

(7) 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.

(8) The High Court shall dispose of any application under [F5 subsection (6) of] this section in like manner as an application to review the decision of an inferior court on a grant of [F6 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.

(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F7

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 448(1)–(2D) substituted for s. 448(1)(2) by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62), Sch. 3 para. 7(a), Sch. 6 para. 7

F2 Words repealed by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions (Scotland) Act 1985 (c. 73, SIF 36:1), Sch. 4

F3 S. 448(3)–(5) substituted by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 3 para. 7(b), Sch. 6 para. 7

F4 Words inserted by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 3 para. 7(c), Sch. 6 para. 7

F5 Words inserted by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 3 para. 7(d), Sch. 6 para. 7

F6 Word substituted by Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 4, SIF 39:1), Sch. 1 para. 12

F7 S. 448(9) repealed by Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 62, SIF 39:1), Sch. 8