The Act
3.The Act amends the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”). Most of the amendments are to sections in Part 12 of the 1995 Act, under the italic cross-heading ‘Special measures for child witnesses and other vulnerable witnesses’. The Annex to these Explanatory Notes sets out those sections as amended by the Act. The amendments are shown by using strikethrough for text that is repealed and underline for text that is inserted. As inserted sections 271BZB and 271BZC provide that, in cases to which section 271BZA applies, sections 271A and 271D are to apply with certain modifications, the Annex contains 2 versions of sections 271A and 271D. The first version of each of those sections is the version as amended by the Act. The second version is the version as amended by the Act but as it is to be read in a case to which section 271BZA applies (as a result of the modifications made by sections 271BZB and 271BZC). The text in the Annex is provided for guidance only and its accuracy is not warranted.
4.Explanatory Notes on the various sections of the Act are provided below. A detailed explanation of the Act’s purpose can be found in the Policy Memorandum. The Policy Memorandum also sets out the policy intentions underpinning the Act and the relationship of the Act to the wider programme of work to improve the support available to vulnerable witnesses.