Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016

31 Precognition of witnesses

(1) Subsection (2) applies where the Lord Advocate is considering whether further inquiry proceedings should be held in relation to the death of a person.

(2) The procurator fiscal may cite a person to attend for precognition in connection with that consideration.

(3) This section is sufficient warrant for such citation.

(4) Subsection (5) applies where a person cited under subsection (2)—

(a) having been given reasonable notice in the citation, and without reasonable excuse, fails to attend for precognition at the time and place mentioned in the citation, or

(b) does so attend but refuses to give information which is—

(i) within the person’s knowledge, and

(ii) relevant to the Lord Advocate’s consideration.

(5) The sheriff may, on the application of the procurator fiscal, make an order requiring the person to attend for precognition or, as the case may be, give the information at a time and place specified in the order.

(6) A person who fails to comply with an order under subsection (5) commits an offence.

(7) A person who commits an offence under subsection (6) is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 21 days or a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (or both).

(8) In this section and section 32, references to the sheriff are references to a sheriff of the sheriffdom in which the inquiry into the person’s death was held.