117.This section allows persons to appeal against various decisions made by the Chief Constable in administering the air weapon licensing regime. Subsection (2) lists the decisions that can be appealed.
118.Subsections (1) and (3) set out that appeals must be made to the appropriate sheriff, as defined by subsection (8), within 21 days of the decision being appealed against. Subsections (4) and (5) state that the sheriff should undertake a full consideration of the merits of the Chief Constable’s decision of new, including considering any evidence that the Chief Constable may not have been aware of at the time.
119.Subsection (6) allows the sheriff hearing the appeal either to dismiss it or to direct the Chief Constable to take whatever action the sheriff sees fit to resolve the matter under appeal (for example, ordering the Chief Constable to grant a refused certificate, or not to revoke a certificate).
120.Subsection (7) states that the decision of the sheriff may only be appealed on a point of law. The effect of this is that appeals may be made on a point of law ultimately to the Inner House of the Court of Session. The “appropriate sheriff” is defined as being the sheriff of the sheriffdom where the appellant resides or, where the appellant resides outside Scotland, the sheriff of Lothian and Borders, sitting at Edinburgh. The latter is necessary because in certain circumstances an appellant may reside outside of Scotland, for example where a visitor permit has been refused.