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Changes over time for: Section 51B
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Status:
Point in time view as at 01/03/2016.
Changes to legislation:
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 51B is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 24 January 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
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[51BDiminished responsibilityS
(1)A person who would otherwise be convicted of murder is instead to be convicted of culpable homicide on grounds of diminished responsibility if the person's ability to determine or control conduct for which the person would otherwise be convicted of murder was, at the time of the conduct, substantially impaired by reason of abnormality of mind.
(2)For the avoidance of doubt, the reference in subsection (1) to abnormality of mind includes mental disorder.
(3)The fact that a person was under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any other substance at the time of the conduct in question does not of itself—
(a)constitute abnormality of mind for the purposes of subsection (1), or
(b)prevent such abnormality from being established for those purposes.
(4)It is for the person charged with murder to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the condition set out in subsection (1) is satisfied.
(5)In this section, “conduct” includes acts and omissions.]
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