Search Legislation

Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020

Commentary

Campaign

Section 16 - Campaign rules: general offences

173.Section 16 specifies that a person commits an offence by altering, suppressing, concealing or destroying a document liable to be produced for inspection, in order to falsify the document or circumvent the campaign control provisions of this Act contained in schedules 3 to 5. It is also an offence for an office-holder in a supervised organisation (that is, a permitted participant as defined in schedule 3 paragraph 2 other than an individual) to fail to provide information to an individual who is a permitted participant, or to the responsible person as defined in schedule 7) without a reasonable excuse, or to knowingly provide false information. It is also an offence for a person to withhold information required for the purposes of schedules 3 to 5 from the responsible person or individual who is a permitted participant where there is intent to deceive. Offences under this section can be prosecuted by summary proceedings or on indictment, and carry a penalty of imprisonment or a fine, or both.

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the Scottish Government to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Acts of the Scottish Parliament except those which result from Budget Bills.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources