285.Section 100 amends the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”) so that its provisions apply in the Sexual Offences Court.
286.Section 4 of the 2011 Act sets out the “new evidence” exception to the double jeopardy rule. It provides that where an accused person has been acquitted in the High Court, the High Court might, on application, grant authority to bring a new prosecution in the High Court if there is new evidence that the accused person committed the offence charged. Subsection (2)(a) adds reference to the Sexual Offences Court to section 4(1) of the 2011 Act, meaning that the “new evidence” exception will apply where an accused person is acquitted in the Sexual Offences Court in the same way that it applies to an accused person acquitted in the High Court. Subsection (2)(b) amends section 4(3)(b)(ii) of the 2011 Act, to ensure that retrials can take place in the Sexual Offences Court if that is where the original trial was heard.
287.Section 9(2) of the 2011 Act provides that where the accused makes a plea in bar of trial, on the basis that the charge arises out of acts for which the accused has already been tried, the plea must be remitted to the High Court for a decision. Subsection (3) amends section 9(2) of the 2011 Act to apply this requirement in the Sexual Offences Court, to ensure that the High Court retains sole authority to grant the right to bring a retrial under that section.
Crown Application Part 7 – Sexual Offences Court Double jeopardy Section 100 – exception to rule against double jeopardy in the Sexual Offences Court: new evidence