Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010

3 Sentencing guidelines

(1) The Council is from time to time to prepare, for the approval of the High Court of Justiciary, guidelines relating to the sentencing of offenders.

(2) Such guidelines are to be known as “sentencing guidelines”.

(3) Sentencing guidelines may in particular relate to—

(a) the principles and purposes of sentencing,

(b) sentencing levels,

(c) the particular types of sentence that are appropriate for particular types of offence or offender,

(d) the circumstances in which the guidelines may be departed from.

(4) Sentencing guidelines may be general in nature or may relate to a particular category of offence or offender or a particular matter relating to sentencing.

(5) The Council must, on preparing any sentencing guidelines, also prepare—

(a) an assessment of the costs and benefits to which the implementation of the guidelines would be likely to give rise,

(b) an assessment of the likely effect of the guidelines on the criminal justice system generally.

(6) The Council—

(a) must from time to time review any sentencing guidelines published by it, and

(b) may prepare, for the approval of the High Court of Justiciary, revised guidelines.

(7) In this section and sections 4 to 13, references to sentencing guidelines include references to revised sentencing guidelines.