Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill - Call for Views

Overview

The Scottish Government is proposing a new law about—

• Modernising procedures in criminal courts, and 
• A process for reviewing deaths which relate to abusive behaviour within relationships, to allow lessons to be learned.

The proposed new law is the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill.

Read full details of the proposal

In summary, Part 1 of the Bill sets out provisions in relation to criminal cases. Some of these broadly reflect measures currently provided for on a temporary basis by the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022. 

This Bill makes permanent changes in the following areas:

• using electronic signatures on court documents
• sending court documents electronically
• attending criminal court hearings virtually
• increasing fixed penalty limits that may be offered by a procurator fiscal (‘fiscal fines’) as an alternative to prosecution through the courts
• a national jurisdiction for first callings from custody, allowing the initial stage of some criminal cases to be taken in any sheriff court in Scotland

Part 1 of the Bill also makes some new changes to procedures in criminal courts. These are:

• treating pictures of physical evidence in the same way as the original physical evidence in criminal cases
• establishing a process for electronic copies of documents to be trusted 

Part 2 of the Bill creates a process for reviewing deaths which relate to abusive behaviour within relationships. These reviews should look at what lessons can be learnt in relation to a death to try to stop similar things happening again. The Bill also creates an oversight committee and case review panels to undertake and manage the reviews.

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee are looking at the details of the proposals.

They want to know what people think about them.

Please note that you are not required to answer every question. Please feel free to only answer the questions on which you have a view. For example, if you only wish to comment on Part 2 of the Bill, there is no requirement to comment on the proposals in Part 1.
 

How to submit your views

Please submit your views using the online submission form, linked to below.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. 

The call for views closes on Friday 10 January.