The Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 (Commencement) Order 2005
This Commencement Order brings into force the first phase of the implementation of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 (“the Act”). That Act amended the procedures in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”) as regards special measures for hearing the evidence of children and other vulnerable witnesses. The new regime introduced by the Act is applied in the first phase to trials on indictment in the High Court and Sheriff Court (i.e. solemn criminal proceedings involving trial by judge and jury). Secondly the new regime is confined to children defined as persons under 16 years old. The intention is that as regards criminal trials these procedures will in a subsequent phase be extended to all criminal trials in these courts, and there is power in the act to extend them to the District Courts. It is also the intention to extend the regime to all vulnerable witnesses (i.e. not confined to children). The new regime introduced in the first phase introduces all the special measures available to children under the amended 1995 Act other than the taking of evidence on commission. Again the intention is that this special measure will be made available when arrangements are in place. As regards proceedings not subject to the first phase regime, they will still be subject to section 271 of the 1995 Act (unsubstituted).