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Appendix – Key terms
1995 Act: Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.
2014 Act: Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014.
2018 Act: Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.
Accredited domestic abuse prosecutor: a prosecutor who has completed the three-day domestic abuse training course. Only a Principal Depute or a grade above who is an accredited domestic abuse prosecutor can decide to take no proceedings in a domestic abuse case where there is a sufficiency of evidence.
Accused: person charged with committing a crime.
Acquittal/acquitted: a verdict of a jury, or a decision of a judge, sheriff or justice of the peace. It means that the accused person is not guilty, or the case is not proven.
Adjournment/adjourned diet: a break in court proceedings. This can be for a matter of hours, over lunch or the case can be put off to another date.
Advocacy worker: a person who supports a victim through the justice process, including by assisting them to express their views and have those views heard. Usually employed by a third sector/support organisation.
Aggravation: criminal offences can be aggravated by factors which make the offences more serious and therefore likely to increase any sentence upon conviction.
Alternative to prosecution: instead of prosecuting an accused in court, the prosecutor may decide that it is more appropriate and in the public interest that an alternative to prosecution is offered.
Bail: an accused person’s status when they have been allowed to remain at liberty (that is, not imprisoned) pending trial or sentence, subject to conditions.
Bail conditions: conditions imposed by the court on the accused usually designed to protect victims and the public. These can be standard conditions of bail or additional special conditions to protect a witness. If an accused person does not follow these conditions they may be in breach of bail and reported to the procurator fiscal by the police.
Case management hearings: a feature of the summary case management pilot that involves early judicial case management. Sheriffs may continue cases to these hearings to ensure the defence has had sight of the key evidence in a case before a decision is made by the accused to plead guilty or not guilty.
Case marking instructions: essential guidance and direction for prosecutors making initial decisions on reports from the police and other agencies.
Charge: the crime that the accused person is alleged to have committed.
Child: a person under the age of 18, as defined in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Citation: document sent to a witness requiring them to attend at court on a certain time and date to give evidence.
Complaint: a court document in summary proceedings which details the alleged charges against the accused.
Continued without plea: where the case is continued to a later date without the accused pleading guilty or not guilty.
Corroboration: requirement for each essential element of a crime to be corroborated by another source of direct or circumstantial evidence (for example, the testimony of at least one other witness).
Court depute: prosecutor who appears in court to prosecute or process criminal cases.
Court loadings: the number of cases that are scheduled by SCTS to call in a particular courtroom in a court each day.
Crown: see COPFS
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS): the independent public prosecution service in Scotland. It is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crime, the investigation of sudden, unexplained or suspicious deaths, and the investigation of criminal allegations against the police. Also referred to in this report as ‘the Crown’.
Custody/custody case: when a person is kept in police custody until the case is heard in court.
Deferred sentence: after conviction, the court may defer a case to a date in the future before imposing a final sentence on an accused.
Depute: abbreviated term for a procurator fiscal depute.
Discontinued: when a prosecutor decides to stop the prosecution in a case that has commenced in court.
Desert pro loco et tempore: when the prosecution is brought to an end on the motion of the prosecutor before any final judicial verdict in the case is made. The case may be re-raised by a prosecutor in the future.
Desert simpliciter: when a prosecution is brought to an end by the court before any final judicial verdict in the case is made. The case cannot be re-raised by a prosecutor.
Direct measure: option available to procurator fiscal following an alleged offence. Direct measures include a warning, a fine or unpaid community work.
Disclosure: COPFS has a duty to disclose all material information to the defence, including that which strengthens or weakens the case against the accused.
Evidence by Commissioner: where a witness can give evidence at a different time or place than the actual trial. The witness is asked questions in the usual way, but the evidence is recorded and will be played during the trial and will normally be regarded as the evidence in chief of the witness.
Evidence in chief: the first set of questions the witness is asked by the party who asked the witness to come to court (the prosecutor or the defence). After examination in chief the opposing party then has an opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
Failure demand: demand for a service caused by a failure to do something or do something correctly for the service user. The service user makes additional demands of the service, which could have been avoided, and unnecessarily takes up further time and resources.
First appearance/calling: the first time a case is called in court.
Intermediate diet: its purpose is for the court to establish the state of preparation of the prosecutor and the defence and whether the trial diet is likely to go ahead.
International Co‑operation Unit (ICU): a unit within COPFS which functions as the central authority in Scotland for all aspects of international criminal co‑operation.
Investigative liberation: a person suspected of a crime can be released on investigative liberation by the police following a risk assessment. This occurs where the police require to undertake further enquiries and they can be completed in 28 days. The police can impose conditions on the person when they are released.
Insufficient evidence: where there is no corroboration of the alleged offence and therefore not enough evidence to allow a criminal prosecution to be considered by a prosecutor.
Joint protocol: the joint protocol between Police Scotland and COPFS ‘In partnership challenging domestic abuse’. Last updated in June 2023.
Label/labels: an item shown and lodged in court as evidence. This is the term used for any physical items that are not a document or paper. It includes any objects such as discs, pen drives and mobile phones.
Letter of engagement: a letter that must be submitted by the legal representative of an accused prior to disclosure being made by COPFS.
Lord Advocate: ministerial head of COPFS. She is the senior of the two Law Officers, the other being the Solicitor General.
Marking: decision of action to be taken in a case. Initial marking is the first decision made in a case reported to COPFS by the police, usually by the marking depute
Marking depute: the prosecutor who makes the initial decision on how to proceed with a case.
Motion: an application made by the prosecutor or defence solicitor during court proceedings for a decision to be made by a sheriff on a particular matter. These can usually either be made in writing or verbally in court. Usually either party can oppose the other’s motion.
National Enquiry Point (Enquiry Point): COPFS’s customer contact centre. The first point of contact for many members of the public seeking information from COPFS. Where appropriate, calls are transferred to local procurator fiscal offices.
National Initial Case Processing Unit (NICP): the national unit within COPFS where initial decisions are made in relation to alternatives to prosecutions and prosecutions in the Justice of the Peace Courts or Sheriff Courts before a judge without a jury.
No action: a decision made by a prosecutor not to prosecute or to take any action for an offence reported by the police or other reporting agency.
No further action/proceedings: a decision made by a prosecutor to discontinue a prosecution against an accused for an offence that has commenced in court.
Non-harassment order (NHO): a non-harassment order is a protective order that features conditions that require an offender to refrain from specified conduct in relation to the victim or another person for a specified period.
Not called: when a prosecutor stops a case from proceeding any further in the court process. The case may be re-raised in the future by the prosecutor.
Operational instructions: internal guidance that informs COPFS staff of essential policies and updated guidance.
Part-heard trial: where a trial cannot conclude, usually due to the absence of a particular witness. The trial begins and the available witnesses give evidence. It is then adjourned to a later date for the remainder of the evidence.
Pleading diet: the date assigned for a case to call in court where they will usually be asked whether they plead guilty or not guilty
Plea(s): the answer an accused gives to the court at the beginning of a case when they are asked if they are guilty or not guilty of an offence. It also can refer to a plea where the prosecutor accepts that the accused will plead guilty to all or a reduced number of charges or part of a charge in order to resolve the case with a guilty verdict. Plea negotiation is a legitimate exercise of a procurator fiscal’s discretion.
Procurator fiscal/prosecutor: legally qualified prosecutor who receives reports about crimes from the police and other agencies and makes decisions on what action to take in the public interest and, where appropriate, prosecutes cases.
Pre-Intermediate Diet Meetings: a meeting between the prosecutor and the defence outwith the courtroom to discuss a case. The purpose is to help ensure that only cases which cannot be resolved by a plea and which are ready for trial proceed to the trial date and parties are present at an intermediate diet only when necessary.
Pre-recording of evidence: see Evidence by Commissioner.
Principal Depute: a more senior prosecutor who has line management responsibility for procurator fiscal deputes.
Prior statement: where a statement given to the police by a witness can in certain circumstances be used in court by the prosecutor as part or all of the evidence in chief of the witness. A prior statement is one of the non-standard special measures.
Production: an item shown in court as evidence. It includes items such as letters and other documents, printed photographs and forms which may be used as evidence in the case.
Public interest: in addition to considering whether a police report discloses sufficient admissible, reliable and credible evidence of a crime alleged to have been committed by the accused, prosecutors also consider if any prosecutorial action is in the public interest. Assessment of the public interest often includes consideration of competing interests, including the interests of the victim, the accused and the wider community. The factors taken into account in assessing the public interest will vary according to the circumstances of each case.
Report case: where a person has been released after arrest and a report is sent to the procurator fiscal, who will decide what action to take.
Reporting officer: the police officer who submits the SPR to COPFS.
Scottish Prosecution College: alternative name of COPFS training division. Also refers to the dedicated training space within the COPFS estate used to hold training courses.
Special measures: different ways to help vulnerable witnesses, including all children, to give evidence.
Specialist prosecutor: prosecutors who focus on one particular type of criminal offence for a period of time and therefore build a degree of knowledge and skill in that area.
Specialist units: teams within COPFS where prosecutors focus on a particular specialised area of criminal law, such as serious sexual offences or health and safety offences.
Sheriff Clerk: responsible for the organisation of the work of the Sheriff Court. In the courtroom, the clerk will call out the case, keep a formal procedural record and record the decision of the sheriff.
Sheriffdom: the court system in Scotland is divided into six areas called sheriffdoms. These areas are Glasgow and Strathkelvin; Grampian, Highland and Islands; Lothian and Borders; North Strathclyde; South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway; and Tayside, Central and Fife.
Solemn proceedings/cases: prosecution of serious criminal cases before a judge and a jury in the High Court or Sheriff Court.
SPR: Standard Prosecution Report (also sometimes called Standard Police Report).
Sufficiency of evidence: evidence from at least two independent sources that the crime was committed, and that the accused was the perpetrator of the crime.
Summary proceedings/cases: prosecutions in the Sheriff or Justice of the Peace Court before a judge without a jury.
Supporter: a person at court who offers support and reassurance to a witness prior to giving evidence and who sits near the witness in the courtroom while they are giving evidence.
Trainee: a trainee solicitor. Within COPFS, trainees receive training on the skills required to be a procurator fiscal depute.
Trauma-informed: being aware of how trauma or experiences that have harmed or threatened a person will negatively impact their behaviour over time. It involves taking steps within your working practice to recognise this, address what the person needs and avoid distress and re-traumatisation.
Trial diet: a court hearing where evidence is led before a judge (and a jury in solemn proceedings) to determine if a person is guilty of a crime.
Undertaking: the document signed by someone who has been arrested and released on police bail after promising to come to court at a later date and agreeing to certain conditions, such as not committing any other crimes.
VIA minute sheet: a written record of any contact between VIA officers and victims and vulnerable witnesses in a case where VIA is involved. It may also record actions taken by VIA officers in relation to the case. Prosecutors may also record notes from contact with a victim on the minute sheet.
Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service: a service provided by COPFS which offers information and assistance to some victims and witnesses. While VIA does not provide emotional support to victims, it can signpost victims to other services for such support.
Victims’ Right to Review: in certain circumstances victims have a statutory right to ask for a review of a decision not to prosecute or to stop or discontinue a case once proceedings have started in court.
Warrant: a document granted by the court usually at the request of the prosecutor, giving police the authority to arrest someone. A warrant may be issued for the arrest of the accused if they have failed to attend court.