Revisions to guidelines for sentencing rape offences approved by High Court

The Council’s sentencing guidelines on rape offences have been revised to take into account amendments to legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament. The revised guidelines were approved by the High Court on 20 August and will take effect on 1 September 2026.

The legislative amendments relate to the court’s consideration of non-harassment orders (NHOs) for these offences and are introduced by sections 107 and 108 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.

The new legislation will require courts to make the presumption that an NHO be granted for these offences without an application from the prosecutor (as is currently the case). This will broadly follow the same procedure for NHOs in domestic abuse offences.

The amendments also mean, where the offence is against a partner or ex-partner, the court will take into account any previous bail conditions restricting contact with the victim or victims when considering an NHO. The guideline on rape offences has been revised to reflect this.

In drafting the existing guidelines, a public consultation was conducted; however, the Council did not consider another public consultation necessary on the revisions. As legislation requires, Scottish Ministers and the Lord Advocate were consulted on the revised guidelines ahead of their submission to and approval by the High Court.

The new sentencing guidelines are available to view on the Council’s website.