Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975

Lodging of List of Witnesses, Productions, Special Defence, Etc

78 Record copy indictment and list of witnesses

The record copy of the indictment shall on or before the date of service of the indictment be lodged with the sheriff clerk of the district in which the court of the first diet is situated, and a copy of the list of witnesses and a copy of the list of productions shall be lodged with the sheriff clerk of the district in which the court of the second diet is situated.

79 Description of witnesses

(1) The list of witnesses shall consist of the names of the witnesses, with their addresses added, and it shall not be necessary to insert the words " now or lately residing at, " or any similar words, and it shall not be an objection to the admissibility of any witness that he has ceased to reside at the address given before the date of the trial, provided that he resided at such address at some time, not being more than six months previous to the date of the trial.

(2) It shall not be necessary to insert in the list of witnesses the names of any witnesses to the declaration of the accused or the names of any witnesses to prove that an extract conviction applies to the accused, but witnesses may be examined in regard to these matters without previous notice.

80 Objection to witnesses

Any objection in respect of misnomer or misdescription of any person named in the indictment, or of any witness in the list of witnesses, must be stated before a jury has been sworn to try the case, and no such objection shall be admitted as ground for postponing any trial or for excluding any witness, unless the accused shall, at least four clear days before the second diet, give notice to the procurator fiscal of the district of the second diet where notice of trial is given for the sheriff court, or to the Crown Agent where notice of trial is given for the High Court, of his inability to discover who such person named in the indictment is, or to find such witness, and shall show that notwithstanding such intimation to the prosecutor he has not been furnished with such additional information as might enable him to ascertain who such person is, or to find such witness in sufficient time to recognise him before the trial, and where either of these things shall be shown the court shall give such remedy by postponement, adjournment, or otherwise, as shall seem just.

81 Examination by prosecutor of witnesses, etc., not included in lists lodged

In any trial it shall be competent with the leave of the court for the prosecutor to examine any witness or to put in evidence any production not included in the lists lodged by him, provided that written notice containing, in the case of a witness, his name and address shall have been given to the accused not less than two clear days before the day on which the jury is sworn to try the case.

82 Written notice of special defence and examination of witnesses and productions not included in lists lodged

(1) It shall not be competent for the accused to state any special defence unless a plea of special defence shall be tendered and recorded at the first diet, or unless cause be shown to the satisfaction of the court for a special defence not having been lodged till a later day, which must in any case not be less than two clear days before the second diet.

(2) It shall not be competent for the accused to examine any witnesses or to put in evidence any productions not included in the lists lodged by the prosecutor, unless written notice of the names and addresses of such witnesses and of such productions shall have been given to the procurator fiscal of the district of the second diet when the case is to be tried in the sheriff court, or to the Crown Agent where the case is to be tried in the High Court, at least three clear days before the day on which the jury is sworn to try the case, or unless the accused shall show before a jury is sworn to try the case that he was unable to give the full notice of three days in regard to any witnesses he may desire to examine or productions he may desire to lodge, and where this is shown the court shall give such remedy to the prosecutor by adjournment or postponement of the trial or otherwise as shall seem just.

(3) A copy of every written notice required by the last foregoing subsection shall be lodged by the accused with the sheriff clerk of the district in which the second diet is to be held, or in any case the second diet of which is to be held in the High Court in Edinburgh with the Clerk of Justiciary, at or before the second diet, for the use of the court.

83 Accused entitled to see productions

The accused shall be entitled to see the productions according to the existing law and practice in the office of the sheriff clerk of the district in which the court of the second diet is situated or, where the second diet is to be in the High Court in Edinburgh, in the Justiciary Office.

84 Proof as to productions

Where a person who has examined a production is adduced to give evidence with regard thereto and the production has been lodged at least eight days before the second diet, it shall not be necessary to prove that the production was received by him in the condition in which it was taken possession of by the procurator fiscal or the police and returned by him after his examination of it to the procurator fiscal or the police unless the accused, at least four days before the second diet, gives to the Crown Agent, where he is cited to the High Court for the second diet, or to the procurator fiscal of the district to the court of which he is cited for the second diet, where the case is to be tried in the sheriff court, written notice that he does not admit that the production was received or returned as aforesaid.