Section 24 – Protocol in relation to interaction with criminal investigations etc.
208.Subsection (1) of this section requires various people or organisations to agree and maintain a protocol in relation to the sift process and the carrying out of reviews. The people or organisations in question are, under subsection (2), the chair of the review oversight committee, the chief constable of Police Scotland, the Lord Advocate, the PIRC, and the Scottish Ministers.
209.Subsections (3) and (4) set out more detail about what the protocol must cover. It must describe the general processes and arrangements which the parties intend to follow in order to prevent (so far as within their power to do so) review proceedings causing prejudice to—
any criminal investigation or any other investigation directed by the Lord Advocate or a procurator fiscal (such as a non-criminal investigation which is carried out by the police at COPFS’s direction prior to a fatal accident inquiry),
any criminal proceedings,
any relevant inquiry (which has the same meaning as it does in section 23 – see paragraph 203 of these Notes).
210.The protocol must also cover when information obtained in connection with review proceedings will be provided by the review oversight committee or a case review panel to the chief constable of Police Scotland or (where applicable) the PIRC. Further, it must cover the circumstances in which a person is not to be interviewed or required to provide information under review proceedings without the prior consent of the chief constable, the PIRC, or the Lord Advocate.
211.Subsection (5) requires the parties to the protocol to keep the protocol under review, and provides that they may agree to revise it at any time.
