Commentary on Sections Cautions Section 19: Alternatives to prosecution: rehabilitation of offenders in Scotland
212.Section 19 amends the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 in order to address a legal competence problem that was identified by the Scottish Government in relation to the exercise of enabling powers in Schedule 3 to the 1974 Act.   The amendment allows the Scottish Ministers to make an order under paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 and section 7(4) (as applied by paragraph 8 of Schedule 3) of the 1974 Act setting out exclusions, modifications and exceptions to the general rules in the 1974 Act concerning spent alternatives to prosecution in relation to reserved matters.  Scottish Ministers already have the power to do this in relation to convictions (the powers to do so having been transferred to Scottish Ministers by the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 2003).