Chamber and committees

All decisions in relation to the prosecution of crimes alleged to have been committed in Scotland are taken by prosecutors acting within the system of prosecution headed by the Lord Advocate. In terms of section 48(5) of the Scotland Act 1998, any decision of the Lord Advocate in his capacity as head of that system is taken by the Lord Advocate independently of any other person. Decisions in relation to the prosecution of crime are not made by the Scottish Government. No statistics are held of the number of times prosecutors have decided to relinquish title to prosecute in favour of the prosecuting authorities of another jurisdiction (whether within or outside the UK) or of the number of such prosecutions which led to a conviction.

All decisions in relation to the prosecution of crimes alleged to have been committed in Scotland are taken by prosecutors acting within the system of prosecution headed by the Lord Advocate. In terms of section 48(5) of the Scotland Act 1998, any decision of the Lord Advocate in his capacity as head of that system is taken by the Lord Advocate independently of any other person. Decisions in relation to the prosecution of crime are not made by the Scottish Government. If the UK leaves the EU, prosecutors will continue to apply the general principles set out in the answer to Question S5W-10517 on 24 August 2017. The application of those principles will however depend on the arrangements which are made between the UK and EU in relation to criminal justice co-operation.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

All decisions in relation to the prosecution of crimes alleged to have been committed in Scotland are taken by prosecutors acting within the system of prosecution headed by the Lord Advocate. In terms of section 48(5) of the Scotland Act 1998, any decision of the Lord Advocate in his capacity as head of that system is taken by the Lord Advocate independently of any other person. Decisions in relation to the prosecution of crime are not made by the Scottish Government.

In certain cases where the Scottish courts have jurisdiction over a crime, the courts of another territory may also have jurisdiction. This may arise: (i) because the crime has been committed outwith Scotland but the Scottish courts have extra-territorial jurisdiction; (ii) because the crime has been committed in Scotland but the courts of another territory (which may be a foreign jurisdiction or one of the other jurisdictions of the United Kingdom) have extra-territorial jurisdiction; or (iii) because the offending involves a course of criminality in more than one territory.

As a general rule, the Scottish courts have jurisdiction over crimes committed in Scotland or in Scottish territorial waters. However, they also have jurisdiction over certain crimes committed elsewhere - including homicide, certain terrorist offences and sexual offences against children alleged to have been committed abroad by a British citizen or British subject. In such cases, the courts of the territory where the offence was committed may also have jurisdiction. Many other states also assert extra-territorial jurisdiction in respect of offences committed outside their territory, particularly in relation to offences committed by, or sometimes against, their citizens. The extent and nature of extra-territorial jurisdiction varies from state to state. Further, where a course of criminal conduct takes place in more than one territory, the criminal courts of each territory may be able to assert jurisdiction over the crimes committed on ordinary principles of territoriality.

In considering any allegation of crime reported to them, prosecutors apply the Scottish Prosecution Code published by Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. This requires prosecutors to consider: (i) whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution; and (ii) the public interest. Where there is otherwise sufficient evidence to justify prosecuting the alleged offence in Scotland but the offences could also be prosecuted in another forum, the public interest considerations may include a consideration of the appropriate forum for prosecution.

The United Kingdom is party to bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements which provide a framework for resolving such conflicts of jurisdiction. Where the other territory is another Member State of the EU,Eurojust, of which the UK is a member, provides a forum for the resolution of such issues. Prosecutors will act within the framework of any relevant international agreement or, in the case of other Member States of the EU, within the framework of EU law. While the terms of international treaties vary, they generally seek to give effect to the principle "Ne bis in idem", which protects individuals from multiple prosecutions in different territories in respect of the same offence or offences. Subject to the terms of any relevant law, treaty, or agreement in a case where the offence could be prosecuted in Scotland and also in the courts of another territory, prosecutors generally apply a presumption that the state in whose territory the greater part of the offending, or the most significant offending, occurred will have primacy. The vast majority of prosecutions for crimes committed in Scotland accordingly take place in Scotland. However, in determining whether or not a prosecution should take place in Scotland, or whether, on the other hand, jurisdiction to prosecute should be relinquished in favour of another territory whose courts also have jurisdiction, prosecutors will take into account all relevant factors. Depending on the particular circumstances, these may include the following:

(i) the nature and scope of the offences which may be prosecuted in the respective jurisdictions;

(ii) the whereabouts of any suspect or suspects and, if the suspect or suspects are abroad, the likelihood of their extradition to the UK for prosecution in Scotland, and the impact of any conditions which may be attached to extradition;

(iii) the whereabouts of evidence (including witnesses), and the ease or difficulty of securing evidence for use in a prosecution in Scotland;

(iv) the interests of victims; and

(v) the views of the respective jurisdictions as to the gravity of the offence.

The recruitment of police officers and police staff is a matter for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland published its latest mainstreaming report in April 2017 and this highlights the recruitment of officers and staff from the BME community. A link to the report is attached, please see Part 2 of the report from page 97 onwards. http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/243045/equality-and-diversity-mainstreaming-progress-report-april-2017?view=Standard

Scottish Government officials met with the Scottish Council for Jewish Communities and the Community Security Trust to discuss the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism, which is based on the definition published by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in 2005.

Adopting this definition will help to inform our work in this area and as I confirmed in my previous answer, the Scottish Government will continue to work with representatives to support the needs of the Jewish communities to build strength and eliminate fear in Scotland.

Policy information on Gypsy/Travellers is published on the Scottish Government’s Equality webpage at: https://beta.gov.scot/policies/equality/gypsy-travellers/.

Furthermore, we plan to publish a Gypsy/Traveller Strategic Programme of Work document in Autumn 2017, which will bring together all the relevant policies across Scottish Government that help secure improved outcomes for the community.

Scottish Government officials visited four Gypsy/Traveller sites: Inverness on 31 March, Larkhall on 12 April, Edinburgh on 9 May and Banff on 16 May. They engaged with site managers, liaison officers and directly with members of the Gypsy/Traveller community.

The Scottish Government welcomes the success of the North Coast 500 (NC500) in attracting visitors to the North Highlands, illustrated by the findings of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise's (HIE) economic baseline study published in June 2017

(http://www.hie.co.uk/regional-information/economic-reports-and-research/archive/nc500-economic-baseline-study.html).

This report was commissioned to assist the work of the multi-agency working group established by HIE to support the strategic delivery of the NC500. The group's work includes consideration of infrastructure requirements, including roads and public amenities, with the impacts taken into account by the the individual bodies responsible when assessing future investment priorities. The group, whose members include the Scottish Government, will also continue to monitor the impact of the route.

The continued success of the NC500 is vital to the economy of the north of Scotland and I will meet with the group in July to hear first-hand how we can ensure that the potential social and economic benefits are fully realised.

A range of policies and processes on issues such as effective use of public funds and procurement are already in place to guide the use of public money by our enterprise agencies. The Scottish Government is also working with partners, including the Scottish Human Rights Commission and Scottish Enterprise, to develop a National Action Plan (NAP) to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Scotland. In line with internationally recognised best practice, a national baseline assessment was published in October 2016 to underpin the development of the Plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-09364 on 27 June 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.