Criminal Justice (Anonymity) (Scotland) Act 2018 1

MODEL
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Criminal Justice (Anonymity) (Scotland) Bill

SP Bill 36

(as introduced)

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about the publication of information which
might identify a person arrested by police.

1 Restriction of the publication of identifying information

In the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, after section 17A, insert—

“Arrest: right to anonymity until charged

17B Offence of publishing identifying information

(1) It is an offence for a person (“A”) to publish, in relation to a person (“B”) to whom
subsection (2) applies, any information which A could reasonably expect would
identify B.
(2) This subsection applies to a person—
(a) who has been arrested (but not charged) in connection with an offence, and
(b) in relation to whom, no order under section 17C is in force.
(3) It is a defence for A to show that A did not know, and could not reasonably have
known, that the publication of the information would constitute an offence under
this section.
(4) No offence under this section is committed if—
(a) A and B are the same person, or
(b) A is an agent of B and publishes the information with B’s permission.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction—
(a) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months,
(b) to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or
(c) both.
(6) In this section and section 17C, “publish” means to make available to the public or
a section of the public (by whatever means).
2 Criminal Justice (Anonymity) (Scotland) Act 2018

17C Court power to disapply section 17B

(1) Subsection (2) applies where a court is satisfied that the publication of information
which relates to, and could reasonably be expected to identify B, is—
(a) in the interests of justice or the prevention of crime, or
(b) otherwise in the national interest.
(2) The court may make an order providing that section 17B does not apply in relation
to the publication of that information.
(3) The court may revoke an order under this section if it considers that the condition
in subsection (1) is no longer met.
(4) The court must review whether the condition in subsection (1) continues to be met
in relation to an order on the application of—
(a) B,
(b) the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland, or
(c) the Lord Advocate.
(5) In this section, “court” means—
(a) a sheriff, or
(b) the High Court of Justiciary.”

2 Commencement
This Act comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.

3 Short title
The short title of this Act is the Criminal Justice (Anonymity) (Scotland) Act 2018.