Scottish Sentencing Council website launched as recruitment timeline is revealed
Scottish Sentencing Council website launched as recruitment timeline is revealed
A website for the Scottish Sentencing Council has been launched, providing background information on the new body ahead of its establishment in October.
Visitors will be able to keep up to date with plans for the Council’s creation through its dedicated website.
The first phase of the site has been unveiled today, with the second phase to be completed when the Council is formally established later this year. Feedback on the new website is welcomed.
Recruitment dates to note
In addition to the Lord Justice Clerk, who will be the statutory Chair, five other judicial members will be appointed to the Council.
Three legal members, a prosecutor, an advocate and a solicitor, will also be appointed.
The Council’s membership will also include three lay members, including a constable and a victims’ expert. The lay members will be appointed by the Scottish Ministers.
Recruitment exercises for the appointment of the legal and lay members of the Council will take place over summer. It is intended to announce the full details of the recruitment process by 17 July.
Members will be appointed after statutory consultation, in time for formal establishment of the Council in the autumn.
The Scottish Sentencing Council (Procedure for Appointment of Members) Regulations 2015 (No 225) set out the procedure that the must be followed for making appointments to the Council.
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact Ondine Tennant, Secretary to the Council, at sentencingcouncil@scotcourts.gov.uk / 0131 240 6822 / Scottish Sentencing Council (Appointments) Parliament House, Edinburgh, EH1 1RQ.The Scottish Sentencing Council is due to be established in October 2015 under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.
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The Council will be chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk. Administrative support and staff will be provided by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.
The objectives of the Council are to promote consistency and transparency in sentencing practice, assist in developing sentencing policy and encourage better understanding of sentences across Scotland.
The Council, which will also be responsible for producing sentencing guidelines for the judiciary, will be chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk and will include five other judicial office holders, three legal members, a police officer, a victims’ representative and another non-judicial member.
All proposals for sentencing guidelines from the Council will be considered by the High Court of Justiciary for approval.
Once established it will be for the Council to decide how best to meet its objectives. However legislation put in place by the Scottish Parliament sets out the functions of the Council, including to:
- Produce guidelines covering areas of sentencing
- Support research and academic work relevant to its remit
- Collate and publish information on sentencing decisions (this may include how sentencing guidelines have been applied by the courts)
- Publish information about sentencing