Commentary on Sections Part 6 - Disclosure
579.This Part of the Act makes provision in relation to the disclosure of evidence in criminal proceedings. It is a long established rule in the Scottish legal system that the Crown has an obligation to give the accused notice of the case against him, i.e. to tell him what charges he faces and what evidence the Crown intends to bring to prove the charges. Any exculpatory material should be identified and disclosed to the accused/defence. Disclosure has, until now, been carried out on a common law basis. A series of high profile decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council including the cases of Holland and Sinclair, whilst refining that duty also gave rise to some uncertainty about the exact requirements of the duty of disclosure.
580.Following these decisions Lord Coulsfield was invited to carry out a review on the law and practice of disclosure of evidence in the Scottish criminal justice system, which was published in August 2007. He recommended that disclosure would benefit from having a statutory framework. The provisions in the Act seek to give effect to that recommendation and build on other recommendations made to clarify the law and practice in disclosure in criminal proceedings.