9In section 58 of the 1982 Act, after subsection (4) insert—
“(4A)In subsection (4), the reference to a conviction for theft includes a reference to a conviction by a court in England and Wales, Northern Ireland or a member State of the European Union other than the United Kingdom of an offence that is equivalent to theft.
(4B)Any issue of equivalence arising in pursuance of subsection (4A) is for the court to determine.”.
10In section 27(1) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 (interpretation of Part 1), insert at the appropriate place—
““previous conviction” means a previous conviction by a court in any part of the United Kingdom or in any other member State of the European Union;”.
11(1)Section 9 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (permitting girl to use premises for intercourse) is amended as follows.
(2)In subsection (2A)—
(a)the word “or” immediately following paragraph (a) is repealed, and
(b)after paragraph (a) insert—
“(aa)that person has a previous conviction for a relevant foreign offence committed against a person under the age of 16; or”.
(3)In subsection (3)—
(a)the word “and” immediately following paragraph (a) is repealed, and
(b)after paragraph (a) insert—
“(aa)“a previous conviction for a relevant foreign offence” has the same meaning as in section 39(5)(aa) of that Act; and”.
12In section 4(1) of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 (basic definitions for purposes of Part 2), insert at the appropriate place—
““previous conviction” means a previous conviction by a court in any part of the United Kingdom or in any other member State of the European Union,”.
13(1)Section 39 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (defences in relation to offences against older children) is amended as follows.
(2)In subsection (2)—
(a)in paragraph (a)—
(i)the word “or” immediately following sub-paragraph (i) is repealed, and
(ii)after sub-paragraph (i) insert—
“(ia)if A has a previous conviction for a relevant foreign offence committed against a person under the age of 16, or”, and
(b)in paragraph (b)—
(i)the word “or” immediately following sub-paragraph (i) is repealed, and
(ii)after sub-paragraph (i) insert—
“(ia)if B has a previous conviction for a relevant foreign offence committed against a person under the age of 16, or”.
(3)In subsection (5), after paragraph (a) insert—
“(aa)“a previous conviction for a relevant foreign offence” means a previous conviction by a court in a member State of the European Union other than the United Kingdom for an offence that is equivalent to one listed in paragraph 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 (so far as applying to an offence listed in paragraph 1, 4, 7 or 10) or 14 of schedule 1,”.
(4)After subsection (5) insert—
“(5A)Any issue of equivalence arising in pursuance of subsection (5)(aa) is for the court to determine.
(5B)For that purpose, an offence may be equivalent to one listed in paragraph 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 (so far as applying to an offence listed in paragraph 1, 4, 7 or 10) or 14 of schedule 1 even though, under the law of the member State (or part of the member State) in question, it is an offence—
(a)regardless of the age of the victim, or
(b)only if committed against a person under an age other than 16 years.”.