SCHEDULE 1THE SCOTTISH SENTENCING COUNCIL
Membership
I21
1
The Council consists of a chairing member, other judicial members, legal members and lay members.
2
The chairing member is the Lord Justice Clerk.
3
The other judicial members comprise—
a
one other person holding the office of judge who normally sits as a judge of the Outer House of the Court of Session or the High Court of Justiciary,
b
one person holding the office of sheriff (other than a sheriff principal),
c
two persons holding the office of F2summary sheriff or justice of the peace, and
d
one other person holding—
i
any of the offices mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c), or
ii
the office of sheriff principal.
4
The legal members comprise—
a
one prosecutor within the meaning of section 307 of the 1995 Act,
b
one advocate practising as such in Scotland (other than one who is a prosecutor), and
c
one solicitor practising as such in Scotland (other than one who is a prosecutor).
5
The lay members comprise—
a
one constable,
b
one person appearing to the Scottish Ministers to have knowledge of the issues faced by victims of crime, and
c
one other person who is not qualified for appointment as a judicial or legal member.
Procedure for appointment of members
I1I32
1
It is for the Lord Justice General, after consulting the Scottish Ministers, to appoint the members of the Council other than the Lord Justice Clerk and the lay members.
2
It is for the Scottish Ministers, after consulting the Lord Justice General, to appoint the lay members.
3
The Lord Justice General may appoint a person to be a member only if the person has been nominated, or otherwise selected for appointment, in accordance with such procedures as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations prescribe.
4
The regulations may—
a
in particular, make provision for or in connection with enabling a person to nominate or select persons suitable for appointment,
b
prescribe different procedures for different categories of membership.
5
The Scottish Ministers must consult the Lord Justice General before making the regulations.
Persons disqualified from membership
I43
A person is disqualified from appointment, and from holding office, as a member of the Council if the person is or becomes—
a
a member of the House of Commons,
b
a member of the Scottish Parliament,
c
a member of the European Parliament,
d
a councillor of any council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39),
e
a Minister of the Crown, or
f
a member of the Scottish Executive.
Term of office
I54
1
A member holds office for such period not exceeding 5 years as the Lord Justice General or, as the case may be, the Scottish Ministers may, at the time of appointment, determine.
2
A member ceases to hold office—
a
on becoming disqualified from holding office as a member, or
b
on ceasing to fall within the category of membership under which the member was appointed.
3
A person who has previously been a member may not be re-appointed.
4
In this paragraph, “a member” means a member appointed by the Lord Justice General or the Scottish Ministers.
Resignation and removal of members
I65
1
A member appointed by the Lord Justice General may resign office by giving notice in writing to the Lord Justice General.
2
A member appointed by the Scottish Ministers may resign office by giving notice in writing to the Scottish Ministers.
3
The Lord Justice General may, by notice in writing, remove a judicial or legal member if satisfied that the member is unfit to be a member by reason of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour.
4
The Scottish Ministers may, by notice in writing, remove a lay member if satisfied that the member is unfit to be a member by reason of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour.
Suspension of judicial members
I76
A judicial member is suspended from acting as such during any period in which the member is suspended from the judicial office which the member holds.
F1Remuneration and expenses of members
6A
1
A member of the Council is entitled to such remuneration and expenses, if any, as the relevant authority may determine.
2
The “relevant authority” is—
a
in relation to a judicial member or a legal member, the Lord Justice General, or
b
in relation to a lay member, the Scottish Ministers.
3
Different remuneration or expenses may be determined under sub-paragraph (1) for members of different descriptions.
4
It is for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to pay any remuneration or expenses to which a member is entitled by virtue of sub-paragraph (1).
Chairing of the Council
I8 7
1
The Lord Justice Clerk is to chair meetings of the Council.
2
If the Lord Justice Clerk is for any reason unable to chair a meeting, the meeting may be chaired by another judicial member nominated—
a
by the Lord Justice Clerk, or
b
if the Lord Justice Clerk is unable to make such a nomination, by the Council.
3
The Lord Justice Clerk may nominate another judicial member to chair meetings of the Council for a temporary period.
Committees
I9 8
The Council may establish committees comprising members of the Council.
Proceedings
I10 9
The Council may determine—
a
its own procedure (including the number of members required to constitute a quorum), and
b
the procedure (including the number of members required to constitute a quorum) of any committees established by it.
Validity of acts
I11 10
The validity of proceedings or actings of the Council is not affected by—
a
any vacancy in the membership of the Council,
b
any defect in the appointment of a member of the Council, or
c
disqualification of any person from holding office as a member of the Council.
Ancillary powers
I12 11
The Council may do anything which it considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with its functions.
Delegation
I13 12
1
Any function of the Council, other than the function of submitting sentencing guidelines to the High Court of Justiciary for approval, may be carried out on its behalf by—
a
a member of the Council,
b
a committee, or
c
any other person,
authorised (whether specially or generally) by it for the purpose.
2
Nothing in sub-paragraph (1) prevents the Council from exercising any function delegated under that sub-paragraph.
Maladministration
I14 13
In the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (asp 11), in schedule 2 (which lists the authorities subject to investigation under that Act), in Part 2 (entries amendable by Order in Council), after paragraph 50 insert—
50A
The Scottish Sentencing Council.
Freedom of information
I15 14
In the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 13), in schedule 1 (which lists the Scottish public authorities subject to that Act), in Part 7 (other authorities), after paragraph 98 insert—
98A
The Scottish Sentencing Council.
Sch. 1 para. 6A inserted (28.11.2015) by The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (Supplementary Provision) Order 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/388) , arts. 1 , 2