Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1908
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1908 c. 65 |
Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act, 1908
(8 Edw. 7.) CHAPTER 65.
An Act to regulate and amend the Law relating to Summary Jurisdiction and Criminal Procedure in Scotland.
[21st December 1908]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Preliminary.
Preliminary.
1 Short title and commencement.
1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as theSummary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act, 1908, and shall come into operation on the first day of June nineteen hundred and nine.
2 Interpretation of terms.
2. In this Act, which, except where otherwise indicated, shall apply to Scotland only, the following words and expressions are used in the following senses, unless the context shows that a different sense is intended:—
‘Appellant’ shall mean any party appealing against a judgment of a court of summary criminal jurisdiction:
‘Bail’ shall include any pledge lodged by or on behalf of an accused person as security for his appearance at any diet of court:
‘Cause’ means and includes every proceeding brought under this Act:
‘Clerk of court’ shall mean the clerk of any court of summary criminal jurisdiction, and shall include depute clerk, and any person duly authorised to exercise the duties of clerk of court:
‘Clerk of justiciary’ shall mean the clerk of the High Court, and shall include any person duly authorised to represent or act for such clerk:
‘Complaint’ shall include summons and information, and any schedule or list annexed to any complaint:
‘County’ shall extend to the limits within which a sheriff has jurisdiction in criminal matters, whether by statute or at common law, and shall include district of a county:
‘Court’ shall mean any court of summary criminal jurisdiction, and shall include sheriff court, justice of peace court, burgh court, police court, and the court of the bailie of the river and firth of Clyde:
‘District of a county’ shall mean any part of a county in which a separate sheriff court is held and for which a separate procurator fiscal is appointed:
‘Extract conviction’ or ‘extract of previous conviction’ shall include certified copy conviction, certificate of conviction, and any other document under the hand of the proper officer in use to be issued from any court of justice of the United Kingdom as evidence of a conviction or convictions:
‘High Court’ shall mean High Court of Justiciary:
‘Judge’ shall, mean any sheriff, justice of the peace, and any magistrate or other Judge of a court of summary criminal jurisdiction:
‘Justice of the peace’ shall mean any of His Majesty's justices of the peace for any county or county of a city in Scotland acting within such county or county of a city:
‘Law agent’ shall mean a law agent enrolled in terms of the Law Agents (Scotland) Act, 1873, and any Act explaining or amending that Act:
‘Offence’ shall mean an act or attempt or omission punishable bylaw:
‘Officer of law’ shall include chief constable, deputy chief constable, constable, criminal officer, sheriff officer, prison warder, and any person having authority to execute a warrant of court:
‘Order’ shall mean any order, byelaw, rule, or regulation having statutory authority:
‘Penalty’ shall include fine and any sum of money which may, under the authority of any statute or order, be recoverable from any person in respect of the contravention of any statutory requirement or prohibition, and any, sum which may, under the authority of any statute or order, be recoverable as a penalty or forfeiture, or of which a court has power to order payment, as also the forfeiture of any article where such forfeiture is, authorised by statute or order:
‘Prosecutor’ shall include procurator-fiscal, assistant procurator-fiscal, burgh prosecutor, and any other persons prosecuting in the public interest, private prosecutor, and complainer, and any person duly authorised to represent or act for any public prosecutor:
‘Respondent’ shall mean and include any party to an appealed cause other than the appellant:
‘Statute’ shall mean any Act of Parliament, public general, local, or private, and any Provisional Order confirmed by Act of Parliament:
‘Witness’ shall include haver.
3 Repeal.
3. The Acts mentioned in Schedule A. to this Act are, to the extent specified in the third column of that schedule, hereby repealed, and all statutes, laws, and usages, so far as the same are inconsistent or at variance with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed.
Jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction.
4 Application of Act.
4. This Act so far as relating to summary procedure shall apply to summary proceedings in respect of (a ) any offence which might prior to the passing of this Act, or which may under the provisions of this or any future Act, be tried in a summary manner; (b ) any, offence or the recovery of a penalty under any statute which does not exclude summary procedure; (c ) any order ad factum prstandum, or other order of court or warrant competent to a court of summary criminal jurisdiction; and shall apply to procedure in all courts of summary criminal jurisdiction in so far as they have jurisdiction in the matters aforesaid. Where any statute provides for proceedings being taken under the Summary Procedure Act, 1864, the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Acts, 1864 and 1881, or under any general or local Police Act, or under any public general or local Act incorporating any section of any Act hereby repealed, or for appeal under the Summary Prosecutions Appeals (Scotland) Act, 1875, such proceedings or appeal shall be taken under this Act.
This Act shall, notwithstanding any special provisions to the contrary contained in any of the statutes relating to His Majesty's revenue under the control of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or the Commissioners of Customs, apply to all summary proceedings under or by virtue of any of the said statutes; and in such proceedings it shall be lawful to grant decree for the condemnation of goods seized as forfeited under the provisions of the said Acts, and prosecutions under the Revenue Acts shall, without prejudice to any appeal competent under this Act, continue to be subject to appeal to quarter sessions and to the Court of Exchequer in Scotland in manner therein provided;
Provided that, where the sum adjudged by conviction under or by virtue of any of the said statutes to be paid exceeds fifty pounds, the period of imprisonment imposed in respect of the non-payment of such sum may exceed three months but shall not exceed six months.
Nothing in this Act shall extend or be construed to extend to any warrant or order for the removal of any poor person who is or shall become chargeable to any parish or district, nor to any information or complaint or other proceeding under or by virtue of any statutory provision for the recovery of any rate, tax, or impost whatsoever.
5 Application of Act 50 & 51 Vict. c. 35.
5. The enactments contained in the sections of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1887, which are set out in Schedule B. to this Act shall apply to all proceedings under this Act except where there is anything in any section which specially applies to procedure in the High Court and in the sheriff and jury court, the words ‘summary complaint’ being substituted for the word ‘indictment,’ and the words ‘offence punishable on summary complaint’ being substituted for the word ‘crime’ and the expression ‘indictable crime’ respectively, and the word ‘court’ being substituted for the word ‘jury.’
6 Civil proceeding for penalties.
6. Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any right to sue for any penalty, or to apply for any order of court or other warrant ad factum prstandum in the court of session or sheriff court, but it shall not be competent to sue for penalties in the small debt court.
7 Jurisdiction and powers of courts.
7. The jurisdiction and powers of all courts of summary criminal jurisdiction, except in so far as the same may be altered or modified by this or any future Act, shall remain as at the commencement of this Act, and the justice of peace court and justices of the peace, and also any judge of police or burgh magistrate, shall, without prejudice to any other or wider powers conferred by statute, be entitled to exercise within their respective jurisdictions power on convicting of a common law offence—
(1) To award imprisonment with or without hard labour for any period not exceeding sixty days;
(2) To impose a fine not exceeding ten pounds;
(3) To ordain the accused (in lieu of or in addition to the said imprisonment or fine) to find caution for good behaviour for any period not exceeding six months and to an amount not exceeding twenty pounds;
(4) Failing payment of the said fine or on failure to find the said caution, to award imprisonment according to the scale prescribed by this Act; provided always that in no case shall the total imprisonment exceed sixty days.
8 Certain crimes not to be tried in inferior courts.
8. A court of summary criminal jurisdiction (other than the sheriff court) shall not have jurisdiction to try or to pronounce sentence in, but shall, to the extent and in the manner in the next succeeding section mentioned, be entitled to take cognizance of, the case of any person found within the jurisdiction of such court, and brought before such court accused or suspected of having committed at any place beyond the jurisdiction of such...
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