Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Act 2025

Sift stage

19 Determination as to whether to hold a review

(1) Following notification or a referral of a death under section 17, the review oversight committee must—

(a) satisfy itself as to whether the death is a reviewable death, and

(b) where it is so satisfied—

(i) determine whether a domestic homicide or suicide review should be carried out in respect of the death, or

(ii) if the committee is unable to reach a unanimous decision and the chair of the committee so decides, refer the question to the Scottish Ministers for their determination.

(2) A determination under subsection (1)(b) is to be based on—

(a) the likelihood of the review identifying lessons to be learned from the death or the circumstances leading up to it which would improve Scottish practice in—

(i) the safeguarding of those affected by abusive domestic behaviour, or

(ii) the promotion of the wellbeing of victims of abusive domestic behaviour,

(b) whether any Scottish public authorities or voluntary organisations operating in Scotland were involved, or had the opportunity to be involved, in the circumstances leading up to the death, and

(c) where the persons who are persons A and B for the purpose of section 12 in relation to the death in question were not partners or ex-partners, whether and to what extent there appears to be a connection between—

(i) the death, and

(ii) abusive behaviour (within the meaning of section 12) between person A and any partner or ex-partner of person A.

(3) In assessing matters as mentioned in subsection (2), the factors to which regard is had must include—

(a) the extent of the apparent connection between the abusive domestic behaviour and the death in question,

(b) the information available to the committee or a case review panel, or likely to be obtainable by either of them, in respect of the circumstances leading up to the death,

(c) the extent of the connection which the persons mentioned in section 12(3) or (as the case may be) 12(5) have or had to Scotland.

(4) Where the committee is making a determination under subsection (1)(b)(i), it may, if the chair of the committee so decides, seek advice from the Scottish Ministers in relation to the making of the determination.

(5) Where the committee satisfies itself that a death is not reviewable or determines that a review should not be carried out in respect of it (whether or not advice has been sought under subsection (4))—

(a) the chair of the committee must provide the Scottish Ministers with the committee’s reasons for reaching that outcome, and

(b) the Scottish Ministers may step in and direct the committee to secure the carrying out of a review in respect of the death.

(6) The chair of the committee must, when making a referral under subsection (1)(b)(ii) or seeking advice under subsection (4), provide the Scottish Ministers with such information within the chair’s possession or control as the chair considers is likely to be of assistance to Ministers in the exercise of their functions under those subsections.

(7) In this section—

• “abusive domestic behaviour” means abusive behaviour by person A towards person B, within the meaning of section 12(2),

• “voluntary organisation” means a body (other than a public authority), the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit.

20 Determination as to whether to expand the remit of a review

(1) Where the outcome of consideration of a death under section 19 is that a domestic homicide or suicide review is to be carried out in respect of the death, the review oversight committee must, if subsection (2) applies to the death, determine whether to expand the remit of the review in accordance with subsection (3).

(2) This subsection applies to a death only where—

(a) it is a death mentioned in section 12(3)(a), and

(b) either or both of the persons who are persons A and B for the purpose of that section—

(i) at the time of the death had a child who was—

(A) a young person, or

(B) an adult at risk, or

(ii) at the time of the death had a young person, not falling within sub-paragraph (i), living in their household.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), the remit of a review may, in line with a determination under subsection (1), be expanded to also examine any or all of the following—

(a) the extent to which the person mentioned in subsection (2)(b)(i) or (ii) (“the relevant person”) was able to provide views in relation to any decisions made by a public authority in the period following on from the death which directly concerned the person’s welfare and in which the person’s best interests were a primary consideration (such as where the person lives or the family members with whom the person has contact),

(b) the extent to which the relevant person received any support the person reasonably required in order to provide those views,

(c) more broadly, the extent to which the relevant person received any support the person reasonably required following on from the death (whether such support is normally provided by a public authority or not).

(4) Where more than one person is a relevant person for the purpose of subsection (3), the remit of the review may be expanded in respect of any or all of those persons.

(5) The remit of a review may be expanded in accordance with subsection (3) only where the Lord Advocate has given consent to the expansion.

(6) For the purposes of this section—

• “adult at risk” means a person whom the committee considers to have been, immediately prior to the death in question, an adult at risk within the meaning of section 3 of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007,

• “child” is to be construed in accordance with section 12(7)(c),

• “public authority” has the meaning given by section 6(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998 but does not include a court or tribunal,

• “young person” has the meaning given by section 12(7)(d).

21 Reconsideration of whether to hold a review

(1) The question of whether a death is a reviewable death and, if so, whether a domestic homicide or suicide review should be carried out in respect of it may be reconsidered where—

(a) the outcome of the previous consideration under section 19 was that a review was not to be carried out, and

(b) the decision-maker in respect of that consideration believes it appropriate to reconsider the death as a result of becoming aware of relevant information which was not held by the decision-maker at the time of that consideration.

(2) Where reconsideration of a death is to take place by virtue of subsection (1)—

(a) section 19 applies as it applies following notification or a referral of a death under section 17, with the exception that if the Scottish Ministers were the decision-maker in respect of the previous consideration then they are to perform the review oversight committee’s functions under section 19(1)(a) and (b)(i) in the reconsideration,

(b) for the purposes of this Part, the outcome of the reconsideration is to be treated as being the outcome of consideration of a death under section 19 (and, accordingly, may itself be reconsidered if subsection (1) is satisfied in respect of it).

(3) Where the outcome of reconsideration of a death is itself subject to reconsideration, references in this section to the previous consideration are to be read as references to the previous reconsideration (or, where applicable, to the most recent reconsideration) in respect of the death.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the decision-maker in respect of consideration of a death is—

(a) where the Scottish Ministers made the determination under section 19(1)(b)(ii) or (as the case may be) performed the review oversight committee’s functions in a reconsideration as mentioned in subsection (2)(a), the Scottish Ministers,

(b) otherwise, the review oversight committee.