PART XI Sentencing

Pre-sentencing procedure

201 Power of court to adjourn case before sentence.

(1)

Where an accused has been convicted or the court has found that he committed the offence and before he has been sentenced or otherwise dealt with, subject to subsection (3) below, the court may adjourn the case for the purpose of enabling inquiries to be made or of determining the most suitable method of dealing with his case.

(2)

Where the court adjourns a case solely for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1) above, it shall remand the accused in custody or on bail or ordain him to appear at the adjourned diet.

(3)

F1Subject to section 21(9) of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 7), a court shall not adjourn the hearing of a case as mentioned in subsection (1) above for any single period F2exceeding four weeks or, on cause shown, eight weeks.

(4)

An accused who is remanded under this section may appeal F3to the F4appropriate Appeal Court against the refusal of bail or against the conditions imposed within 24 hours of his remand, by note of appeal F5. . . , and the F4appropriate Appeal Court, either in court or in chambers, may F6. . . —

(a)

review the order appealed against and either grant bail on such conditions as it thinks fit or ordain the accused to appear at the adjourned diet; or

(b)

confirm the order.

F7(5)

A note of appeal under subsection (4) above is to be—

(a)

lodged with the clerk of the court from which the appeal is to be taken; and

(b)

sent without delay by that clerk (where not the F8clerk of the appropriate Appeal Court) to the F8clerk of the appropriate Appeal Court.

F9(6)

In this section—

“appropriate Appeal Court” means—

(a)

in the case of an appeal under subsection (4) against a decision of the High Court, that Court;

(b)

in the case of an appeal under subsection (4) against a decision of a sheriff (whether in solemn or summary proceedings) or a JP court, the Sheriff Appeal Court; and

“the clerk of the appropriate Appeal Court” means—

(a)

in a case where the High Court is the appropriate Appeal Court, the Clerk of Justiciary;

(b)

in a case where the Sheriff Appeal Court is the appropriate Appeal Court, the Clerk of that Court.