The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations bring into force the provisions of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 (“the Act”) on 30 November 2020 listed in the schedule. These provisions relate to:

• Section 4 – amending the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 to remove convictions and alternatives to prosecution for offences that were committed when a person was under 12 years of age,

• Sections 5 to 9 – provision for the disclosure of information about relevant behaviour when a person was under 12 years of age,

• Section 10 – limitation on disclosure of information relating to a time when a person was under 12 years of age,

• Sections 11 to 13 – the appointment of the independent reviewer for the purposes of reviewing information concerning behaviour of persons when under 12 years of age before the disclosure of such information,

• Sections 14 to 20 – how the independent reviewer will review such information prior to its disclosure,

• Section 21 – the requirement on the independent reviewer to prepare an annual report, with recommendations,

• Section 25 – amendments which are needed to other legislation in consequence of chapter 2, part 2 of the Act,

• Section 26 – interpretative provision for part 2 of the Act.

These are the third Commencement Regulations in respect of the Act.