Commentary on Sections Subsection (1) – no further convictions or penalties after relevant date
6.Under subsection (1)(a) there are to be no convictions for a “relevant offence” (that is, an offence under section 1 or section 6 of the 2012 Act – see section 5 of the Act) on or after the “relevant date” (i.e. the day after Royal Assent – see sections 5 and 6). Under subsection (1)(b) no penalties can be imposed for a relevant offence on or after that date.
7.This involves some departure from the default provision that is set out in section 17 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. Section 17 provides that the repealed Act continues to have effect for the purpose of investigating an offence, bringing or completing proceedings and imposing a penalty.
8.Under the default (section 17) arrangements, in other words, it would continue to be possible to convict and impose penalties in respect of a 2012 Act offence for an indefinite period after the Act was repealed, so long as the behaviour that constituted the offence took place before the date of its repeal. Under section 2(1), by contrast, a person who carried out behaviour of the sort criminalised by the 2012 Act can, from the date the repeal takes effect, no longer be convicted of or have a penalty imposed for a 2012 Act offence.