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Fatal Accident Inquiry
A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland. Until 2009, they did not apply to any deaths occurring in other jurisdictions, when the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 extended the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 to service personnel at the discretion of the Chief Coroner or the Secretary of State. The equivalent process in England and Wales is an inquest. A major review of the fatal accident inquiries was undertaken by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, at the request of the Scottish Government, which resulted in the passing of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016. History Fatal accident inquiries were introduced into Scots Law by the Fatal Accidents Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1895, before which time the circumstances of a death which required examination were determined by a procurator fiscal. Since then, the procurator fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judicial Process
Legal process (sometimes simply process) is any formal notice or writ by a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person or property. Common forms of process include a summons, subpoena, mandate, and warrant. Process normally takes effect by serving in on a person, arresting a person, posting it on real property, or seizing personal property. See also *Civil procedure *Due process *Legal proceedings * Legal process outsourcing *Procedural law *Trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ... References Further reading *Hartzler, H. Richard (1976). ''Justice, Legal Systems, and Social Structure''. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press. *Kempin, Jr., Frederick G. (1963). ''Legal History: Law and Social Change''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. *Murphy, Cornelius F. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspicious Death
A death is suspicious if it is unexpected and its circumstances or cause are medically or legally unexplained. Normally, this occurs in the context of medical care, suicide or suspected criminal activity. Legal procedure United Kingdom In cases of suspicious death in England and Wales, the police are required to contact a coroner, who will open an inquest, which is automatically adjourned to allow the police to continue their investigations. This adjourned inquest means that the death can be officially registered and a temporary death certificate issued. If, as a result of police enquiries, a criminal is charged or an accident is shown to have occurred, a full death certificate is issued. Otherwise, the coroner holds a full inquest. In Scotland, the coroner's functions are carried out by a " procurator fiscal", who is appointed by the Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheriffdom
A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a resident or floating sheriff (a legally qualified judge). Sheriffs principal and resident or floating sheriffs are all members of the judiciary of Scotland. History Before 1975 Sheriffdoms were originally identical to the shires of Scotland, originating in the twelfth century. Until the eighteenth century the office of sheriff was often hereditary, but this was ended following the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising of 1745. The Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1747 revested the government of the shires in the Crown, compensating those office holders who were displaced. The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 reduced the office of sheriff principal to a largely ceremonial one, with a sheriff depute or sheriff substitute appointed to each "county, shire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, in Scots law, Scottish, Law of the Isle of Man, Manx, Anglo-Dutch law, South African, Law of Italy, Italian, Law of France, French, Law of Spain, Spanish, Law of Portugal, Portuguese, Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law#Scandinavian Law, Scandinavian, Law of Poland, Polish, Israeli, South Asian and South American jurisdictions, "Advocate" indicates a lawyer of superior classification. "Advocate" is in some languages an honorific for lawyers, such as "Alberico Gentili, Adv. Sir Alberico Gentili". "Advocate" also has the everyday meaning of speaking out to help someone else, such as patient advocacy or the support expected from an elected politician; this article does not cover those senses. Europe United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adversarial System
The adversarial system or adversary system is a legal system used in the common law countries where two advocates represent their parties' case or position before an impartial person or group of people, usually a judge or jury, who attempt to determine the truth and pass judgment accordingly. It is in contrast to the inquisitorial system used in some civil law systems (i.e. those deriving from Roman law or the Napoleonic code) where a judge investigates the case. The adversarial system is the two-sided structure under which criminal trial courts operate, putting the prosecution against the defense. Basic features As an accused is not compelled to give evidence in a criminal adversarial proceeding, they may not be questioned by a prosecutor or judge unless they choose to be; however, should they decide to testify, they are subject to cross-examination and could be found guilty of perjury. As the election to maintain an accused person's right to silence prevents any examinat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inquisitorial System
An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an impartial referee between the prosecution and the defense. Inquisitorial systems are used primarily in countries with civil legal systems, such as France and Italy, or legal systems based on Islamic law like Saudi Arabia, rather than in common law systems. It is the prevalent legal system in Continental Europe, Latin America, African countries not formerly under British rule, East Asia (except Hong Kong), Indochina, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Most countries with an inquisitorial system also have some form of civil code as their main source of law. Countries using common law, including the United States, may use an inquisitorial system for summary hearings in the case of misdemeanors or infractions, such as minor traf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly translated to English as ''sherif''. Description Historically, a sheriff was a legal official with responsibility for a shire, the term being a contraction of "shire reeve" (Old English ). In British English, the political or legal office of a sheriff, term of office of a sheriff, or jurisdiction of a sheriff, is called a shrievalty in England and Wales, and a sheriffdom in Scotland. In modern times, the specific combination of legal, political and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country. * In England, Northern Ireland, or Wales, a sheriff (or high sheriff) is a ceremonial county or city official. * In Scotland, sheriffs are judges. * In the Republic of Ireland, in some counties and in the cities of Dublin an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament. They are the chief public prosecutor for Scotland and all prosecutions on indictment are conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch. The officeholder is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland. The current Lord Advocate is Dorothy Bain KC, who was nominated by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in June 2021. History The office of Advocate to the monarch is an ancient one. The first recognised Lord Advocate was esteemed legal scholar and philosopher Sir Ross Grimley of Goldenacre, recorded in 1483 as serving King James III. At this time the post was generally called the King's Advocate and only in the year 1573 was the term "Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process whereby a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges preferred against the individual pursuant to a prosecution or to protect a person or property. Being detained does not always result in being taken to a particular area (generally called a detention centre), either for interrogation or as punishment for a crime (see prison). An individual may be detained due a psychiatric disorder, potentially to treat this disorder involuntarily. They may also be detained for to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The term can also be used in reference to the holding of property for the same reasons. The process of detainment may or may not have been preceded or followed with an arrest. Detainee is a term used by certain governments and their armed forces to refer to individuals held in custody, such as those it does not classify and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Court Of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in the Old Town in Edinburgh, or in dedicated buildings in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland, where it uses the local sheriff court building. As an appeal court, the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland, at Zeist in the Netherlands during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, as the Scottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court, and an appeal court for the initial appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. The president of the High Court is the Lord Justice General, who holds office ''ex officio'' by virtue of being Lord President of the Court of Session, and his depute is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Advocate Depute
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the Scottish legal system is responsible for prosecution, along with the area procurators fiscal. In Scotland, virtually all prosecution of criminal offences is undertaken by the Crown. Private prosecutions are extremely rare. The Service's responsibilities extend to the whole of Scotland, and include: * Investigation and prosecution of criminal offences * Investigation of sudden or suspicious deaths * The investigation and prosecution of criminal conduct by the police * Assessment and possession of bona vacantia * Assessment and possession of treasure trove The Lord Advocate is assisted by the Solicitor General for Scotland, both Law Officers. The day-to-day running of the Service is done by the Crown Agent & Chief Executive and an execut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
