3.The Act is in three Parts:
Part 1 amends the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (the “1995 Act") in relation to bail. It places a duty on the sheriff, or judge of the district court, on the first appearance of every accused person, to consider automatically whether bail should be granted; it extends those provisions and the existing bail provisions to someone who is already in custody; it removes restrictions on the range of offences for which bail may be granted by a sheriff; and it amends the right of the accused to appeal against the refusal of bail.
Part 2 has three Chapters.
Chapter 1 amends the Court of Session Act 1988 in relation to the composition of the Inner House of the Court of Session.  It enables the Scottish Ministers to alter, by Order, the number of senior judges in either, or both, Divisions of the Inner House of the Court of Session.
Chapter 2 amends the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971 (the “1971 Act") in relation to temporary and part-time sheriffs. It abolishes the office of temporary sheriff and introduces a new office of part-time sheriff.
Chapter 3 amends the District Courts (Scotland) Act 1975 (the “1975 Act") in relation to justices of the peace. It requires a justice to be appointed as a full justice, who can exercise judicial functions, or as a signing justice, who can undertake only a limited range of signing tasks; it allows for delegated legislation to set out requirements in relation to pre-appointment procedures and consultation; it provides new removal procedures for full justices and suspension of full justices, pending an investigation into their fitness for office; it restricts the functions of justices who are also councillors to those of a signing justice.
Part 3 removes from local authorities the right to prosecute in district courts.
4.The schedule to the Act makes minor and consequential amendments. Paragraph 3 of the schedule amends the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in relation to the prosecution of certain education offences.
The Act