Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975

Miscellaneous provisions as to conviction, sentence, etc.

427 Conviction of part only of charge

A conviction of a part or parts only of the charge or charges libelled in a complaint shall imply dismissal of the rest of the complaint.

428 Art and part guilt of statutory offence

A person may be convicted of, and punished for, a contravention of any statute or order, notwithstanding that he was guilty of such contravention as art and part only.

429 " Conviction " and " sentence " not to be used in relation to a child

The words " conviction " and " sentence " shall not be used in relation to children dealt with summarily and any reference in any enactment, whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act, to a person convicted, a conviction or a sentence shall in the case of a child be construed as including a reference to a person found guilty of an offence, a finding of guilt or an order made upon such a finding as the case may be.

430 Forms of finding and sentence

(1) The finding and sentence and any order of a court of summary jurisdiction, as regards both offences at common law and offences under any statute or order, shall be entered in the record of the proceedings in the form, as nearly as may be, of the appropriate form contained in Part V of Schedule 2 to the [1954 c. 48.] Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954 or in an Act of Adjournal under this Act, which shall be sufficient warrant for all execution thereon and for the clerk of court to issue extracts containing such executive clauses as may be necessary for implement thereof; and, when imprisonment forms part of any sentence or other judgment, warrant for the apprehension and interim detention of the accused pending his being committed to prison shall, where necessary, be implied.

(2) Where a fine imposed by a court of summary jurisdiction is paid at the bar it shall not be necessary for the court to refer to the period of imprisonment applicable to the non-payment thereof.

(3) Where several charges at common law or under any statute or order are embraced in one complaint, a cumulo fine may be imposed in respect of all or any of such charges of which the accused is convicted.

(4) A sentence following on a conviction by a court of summary jurisdiction may be framed so as to take effect on the expiry of any previous sentence which at the date of such conviction the accused is undergoing.

431 Consideration of time spent in custody

A court, in passing a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a young offenders institution as defined in section 31(1)(d) of the [1952 c. 61.] Prisons (Scotland) Act 1952 on a person for any offence, shall, in determining the period of imprisonment or detention, have regard to any period of time spent in custody by that person on remand awaiting trial or sentence.

432 Deferred sentence

It shall be competent for a court to defer sentence after conviction for a period and on such conditions as the court may determine.

433 Sentence in open court

Every sentence imposed by a court of summary jurisdiction shall unless otherwise provided be pronounced in open court in the presence of the accused, but need not be written out or signed in his presence.

434 Further provision as to sentence

(1) It shall be competent at any time before imprisonment has followed on a sentence for the court to alter or modify it; but no higher sentence than that originally pronounced shall be competent.

(2) The signature of the judge or clerk of court to any sentence shall be sufficient also to authenticate the findings on which such sentence proceeds.

(3) The power conferred by subsection (1) of this section to alter or modify a sentence shall be exercisable without requiring the attendance of the accused and, without prejudice to the generality of the power, shall include power, in the case where payment of a fine by instalments has been ordered, to reduce the amount, or allow further time for the payment, of any instalment (whether the time for payment thereof has or has not expired), or to order payment of the fine, so far as unpaid, by instalments of smaller amounts or at longer intervals than originally allowed.

435 Expenses

The following provisions shall have effect with regard to the award of expenses in a summary prosecution:—

(a) expenses may be awarded to or against a private prosecutor but shall not be awarded against any person prosecuting in the public interest unless the statute or order under which the prosecution is brought expressly or impliedly authorises such an award ;

(b) the finding regarding expenses shall be stated in the sentence or judgment disposing of the case ;

(c) expenses awarded to the prosecutor shall be restricted to the fees set forth in Schedule 3 to the [1954 c. 48.] Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954;

(d) the court may award expenses against the accused without imposing any fine or may direct the expenses incurred by the prosecutor, whether public or private, to be met wholly or partly out of any fine imposed;

(e) expenses awarded against the accused, where the fine or fines imposed do not exceed £12, shall not exceed £3:

Provided that if it appears to the court that the reasonable expenses of the prosecutor's witnesses together with the other expenses exceed the sum of £3, the court may direct the expenses of those witnesses to be paid wholly or partly out of the fine;

(f) where a child is himself ordered by a sheriff sitting summarily to pay expenses in addition to a fine, the amount of the expenses so ordered to be paid shall in no case exceed the amount of the fine ;

(g) any expenses awarded shall be recoverable by civil diligence in accordance with section 411 of this Act.

436 Forfeiture of implements

Where a person is convicted of any offence by a court of summary jurisdiction or where a probation order is made by such a court in respect of any person, the court may—

(a) order the forfeiture of any instruments or other articles found in his possession and used or calculated to be of use in the commission of the offence of which such person was convicted or on account of which the probation order was made and,

(b) save as otherwise expressly provided in any enactment with regard to the disposal of articles forfeited on conviction of an offence, order such instruments or articles to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of.

437 Warrant of search for forfeited articles

Where a court has made an order for the forfeiture of an article, the court or any justice of the peace may, if satisfied on information on oath—

(a) that there is reasonable cause to believe that the article is to be found in any place or premises; and

(b) that admission to the place or premises has been refused or that a refusal of such admission is apprehended,

issue a warrant of search which may be executed according to law; and for the purposes of this section, any reference to a justice of the peace includes a reference to the sheriff and to a magistrate.

438 Register of children found guilty of offences

In addition to any other register required by law, a separate register of children found guilty of offences and of children discharged on bond or put on probation shall be kept for every summary court by the chief constable or other person charged with the duty of keeping registers of convictions. The register shall apply to children of such age, and shall include such particulars, as may be directed by the Secretary of State, and it shall be the duty of the keeper of the register, within seven days after any such child has been dealt with by the court, to transmit a copy of the entry relating to the child to the education authority for the area in which the child resides.

439 Correction of errors

It shall be competent to correct any error in the record of the proceedings in a summary prosecution or in the extract of any sentence or order of the court at any time prior to execution thereon, and such correction shall be authenticated by the initials of the clerk of court.

440 Extract sufficient warrant for imprisonment

Where imprisonment is authorised by the sentence of a court of summary jurisdiction, an extract of the finding and sentence in the form, as nearly as may be, of the appropriate form contained in Part V of Schedule 2 to the [1954 c. 48.] Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954 or in an Act of Adjournal under this Act shall be a sufficient warrant for the apprehension and commitment of the accused, and no such extract shall be void or liable to be set aside on account of any error or defect in point of form.

441 Provision for court comprising more than one judge

In any proceedings in a court of summary jurisdiction consisting of more than one judge, the signature of one judge shall be sufficient in all warrants or other proceedings prior or subsequent to conviction, although the presence and signature of two or more judges may be necessary to conviction of the offence in respect of which such warrants are granted or proceedings take place, and it shall not be necessary that the judge so signing shall be one of the judges trying or dealing with the case otherwise.