Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Information gathering

15 Power to gather information

(1) The Commissioner may require a criminal justice body to supply information which the Commissioner reasonably requires for the purpose of determining whether that body has complied with, or is complying with—

(a) standards of service set and published under section 2 of the 2014 Act,

(b) the Victims’ Code for Scotland prepared and published under section 3B of that Act.

(2) Where a requirement is imposed under subsection (1), the Commissioner must give the criminal justice body a written notice specifying—

(a) the information, or the nature of the information, which is to be supplied,

(b) the form in which it is to be supplied,

(c) in the case of information which is to be supplied by means of a statement in person, the place at which it is to be supplied, and

(d) the particular matters in connection with which the information is required.

(3) A criminal justice body may refuse to supply information which that body would be entitled to refuse to provide in any proceedings in a court in Scotland.

(4) The Lord Advocate may refuse to supply information which concerns the operation of the system of criminal prosecution in any particular case if the Lord Advocate considers that providing the information—

(a) might prejudice criminal proceedings in that case,

(b) would otherwise be contrary to the public interest.

(5) The Commissioner may revoke any requirement imposed under subsection (1) by giving written notice to the criminal justice body to whom notice of the requirement was given.

(6) Where a criminal justice body refuses, under subsection (3), to supply information, the Commissioner may report the matter to the Court of Session for determination if the Commissioner considers that the criminal justice body was not entitled to so refuse.

(7) In this section, “information” includes unrecorded information.

16 Failure to supply required information

(1) The Commissioner may take the action mentioned in subsection (3) or (4) (or both actions) where—

(a) a requirement to supply information has been imposed on a criminal justice body under section 15(1), and

(b) the criminal justice body refuses (other than by virtue of section 15(3) or (4)), or fails without reasonable excuse, to supply the information in accordance with the terms of the notice issued under section 15(2).

(2) The Commissioner may take the action mentioned in subsection (4) where—

(a) a requirement to supply information has been imposed on a criminal justice body under section 15(1), and

(b) the Commissioner suspects the person has deliberately altered the information.

(3) The Commissioner may publicise the criminal justice body’s refusal, or failure, to supply the information.

(4) The Commissioner may report the matter to the Court of Session.

(5) After receiving a report under subsection (4), and hearing any evidence or representations on the matter, the Court may (either or both)—

(a) make any order for enforcement that it considers appropriate,

(b) deal with the matter as if it were a contempt of court.

17 Offence of Commissioner disclosing confidential information

(1) A person mentioned in subsection (2) commits an offence if—

(a) the person knowingly discloses any information which—

(i) has been obtained by or on behalf of the Commissioner for the purposes of exercising the Commissioner’s functions, and

(ii) at the time of disclosure is not, and has not previously been, in the public domain, and

(b) the disclosure is not authorised by subsection (3).

(2) The persons referred to in subsection (1) are persons who are or have been—

(a) the Commissioner,

(b) a member of the Commissioner’s staff,

(c) an agent of the Commissioner.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), disclosure is authorised only so far as it is—

(a) made with the consent of the person from whom the information was obtained,

(b) subject to subsection (4), necessary for the purpose of enabling or assisting the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions under this Act, or

(c) made for the purposes of legal proceedings, whether criminal or civil (including information disclosed for the purposes of the investigation of any offence or suspected offence).

(4) Subsection (3)(b) does not authorise the disclosure of information which leads, or is likely to lead, to the identification of—

(a) victims,

(b) witnesses,

(c) persons suspected of committing of an offence but who have not been charged in relation to that offence.

(5) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.