101.Section 37 amends part 2 of the 2003 Act to make provision for victims to receive information where the offender is under the age of 18. Subsection (2)(a) repeals section 16(1)(c) of the 2003 Act, which applied that section in relation to offences committed by children who were consequently sentenced to detention without limit of time under sections 205 or 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The changes made by section 35 of this Act mean that section 16(1) will apply in relation to all offenders sentenced to any period of imprisonment or detention, which includes those previously covered by paragraph (c). Subsection (2)(b) then repeals section 16(2) of the 2003 Act, which prevented section 16 from applying in relation to offences committed by children under the age of 16. Accordingly, section 16 will now apply regardless of the age of the offender.
102.Paragraphs (c) to (f) of subsection (2) make changes to section 16(3) of the 2003 Act to reflect the broader application of section 16 in relation to offences committed by children.
103.Subsections (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) amend sections 16ZA, 16A, 16D, 17, and 17ZA of the 2003 Act respectively, so that those sections will apply regardless of the age of the offender.
104.Subsection (8) inserts new section 17AA into the 2003 Act. The new section makes provision for situations where a person is entitled to receive information under section 16 or 16ZA of the 2003 Act in relation to an offence committed by a child, and either the child is due to be released automatically, or the local authority intends to review the child’s case and considers that the child might be released as a result of that review. In either case, the person entitled to receive information is to be given the opportunity to make representations about relevant aspects of the release, where that person has notified the Scottish Ministers previously that they want to be given the opportunity to do so.
Crown Application Part 3 – Victims’ Rights to Receive Information Section 37 – victim notification and right to make representations where offender is a child