Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill

Overview

The Bill covers a wide range of matters. Many of these relate to the experience of victims and witnesses in the justice process, especially sexual offence cases. The Bill also makes some broader reforms to the criminal justice process.

At its introduction, the Bill is split into six parts.

Part 1:

• creates the office of Victims and Witnesses Commissioner for Scotland

Part 2:

• embeds trauma-informed practice in criminal and civil courts

Part 3:

• increases the availability of special measures for vulnerable witnesses and parties in civil court proceedings

Part 4:

• changes the size of a criminal jury
• makes rules about majority verdicts and what happens when a juror is dismissed or unable to continue on the jury
• removes the not proven verdict

Part 5:

• creates a new sexual offences court and sets out how it will operates within the criminal justice system

Part 6:

• provides automatic life-long anonymity for victims of sexual offences
• gives complainers in sexual offence cases an automatic right to independent legal representation when an application is made to introduce evidence about the complainer’s character
• gives power to the Scottish Ministers to carry out a pilot of rape trials conducted by a single judge

Why the Bill was created

The Bill aims to improve the experiences of victims and witnesses within Scotland’s justice system – in particular, the victims of sexual crime. In particular, the Bill aims to:

• strengthen the rights of victims and witnesses of crime
• embed trauma-informed practice across the justice system
• improve the experience of vulnerable victims, parties and witnesses

Part 4 of the Bill (removing the not proven verdict and changing the size of a jury in criminal trials) intends to improve the fairness, clarity and transparency of the framework within which decisions in criminal cases are made.

Bill as Introduced

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill as introduced (3MB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Accompanying Documents

Explanatory Notes (354KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Policy Memorandum (1MB, pdf) posted 26 April 2023

Financial Memorandum (552KB, pdf) posted 26 April 2023

Delegated Powers Memorandum (214KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Statements on legislative competence (118KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Accompanying Documents (print versions)

Explanatory Notes (409KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Policy Memorandum (956KB, pdf) posted 26 April 2023

Financial Memorandum (530KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Delegated Powers Memorandum (303KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Statements on legislative competence (220KB, pdf) posted 25 April 2023

Financial Resolution

The Presiding Officer has decided under Rule 9.12 of Standing Orders that a financial resolution is required for this Bill.

Research on the Bill

The Scottish Parliament's Information Centre (SPICe) prepares impartial research and analysis to assist MSPs in their examination of Bills and other parliamentary business.

Research briefing on the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill

Timetable for Stage 1

On 28 June 2023, Parliament agreed that consideration of the Bill at Stage 1 be completed by 29 March 2024.

On 13 March 2024, Parliament agreed that consideration of the Bill at Stage 1 be extended to 26 April 2024.

The lead committee agreed the following phases for taking evidence from witnesses on the Bill:

Phase 1 – approximately mid-September to mid-November – this will cover Parts 1 to 3 of the Bill which:

• creates the office of Victims and Witnesses Commissioner for Scotland
• embeds trauma-informed practice in criminal and civil courts
• increases the availability of special measures for vulnerable witnesses and parties in civil court proceedings

Phase 2 – approximately mid-November to end-December – this will cover Part 4 of the Bill which:

• changes the size of a criminal jury
• makes rules about majority verdicts and what happens when a juror is dismissed or unable to continue on the jury
• removes the not proven verdict

Phase 3 – approximately January to mid-February – this will cover Parts 5 and 6 which:

• creates a new sexual offences court and sets out how it will operates within the criminal justice system
• provides automatic life-long anonymity for victims of sexual offences
• gives complainers in sexual offence cases an automatic right to independent legal representation when an application is made to introduce evidence about the complainer’s character
• gives power to the Scottish Ministers to carry out a pilot of rape trials conducted by a single judge without a jury

You can learn more about our phased approach to scrutiny of the Bill in our short explainer video.

Watch the video

Please note that the above information is for planning purposes only and it is subject to change.

The Committee will regularly provide updates on this page on its plans for scrutiny of the Bill, including the names of witnesses invited to give evidence, as this information is available.

Lead committee's approach to scrutiny of the Bill

The Criminal Justice Committee has agreed its intended approach to scrutiny of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1. The Committee notes that the Bill contains several substantial policy proposals.

These include a new Victims and Witnesses Commissioner, changes to the size of juries, the abolition of the not proven verdict, a new Sexual Offences Court and a pilot of rape trials conducted by a single judge without a jury.

As such, we have decided to take a phased approach to our consideration of the Bill, to divide the Bill into more manageable segments for the purposes of Stage 1 and consider these separately, one after the other.

The Committee believes it is important to take the time to consider all the main provisions in the Bill in a thorough and balanced way.

Engagement

Informal meetings

On Wednesday 6 December 2023, the Criminal Justice Committee undertook an informal meeting with survivors of sexual crime with experience of the criminal justice system to hear their views on the provisions of the Bill. An anonymised transcript of the discussion can be found here.

Read the transcript (310KB, pdf) posted 08 February 2024

On Tuesday 16 January 2024, the Criminal Justice Committee undertook an informal meeting with the families of victims whose lives were taken during a criminal act to hear their views on the provisions of the Bill. An anonymised note of the discussion can be found here.

Read the note (149KB, pdf) posted 23 February 2024