34.Section 9 places a duty on the Commissioner to publish a Victims’ Charter within 12 months of section 9 coming into force. The charter is to be laid before the Scottish Parliament, reviewed once a year, and revised as appropriate following any such review.
35.Subsection (2) sets out certain information which must be included within the charter and provides for the Commissioner to include any further information as the Commissioner thinks appropriate. Subsection (3) requires the Commissioner to invite certain persons to participate in the preparation of the charter. Those persons are victims, victim support service organisations, and the criminal justice bodies, as defined in section 25, as well as other persons the Commissioner thinks appropriate. Subsection (4) makes provision for there to be more than one charter, as there might be different information or provision in relation to different types of victim, such as children, or in relation to victims of different types of offences, such as violent offences, and it may be considered beneficial for this information or provision to be set out separately.
36.Subsection (5) provides that where the charter is revised and re-published, the same requirements in relation to publishing, content, and participation, and the provision in relation to there being more than one charter, apply as they do in relation to the original charter. Subsection (6) makes clear that any preparation work in relation to the charter done before section 9 comes into force is to be treated as valid.
Crown Application Victims’ charter Section 9 – victims’ charter