Scots criminal law relies far more heavily on

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

than in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. Scottish criminal law includes offences against the person of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular j ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

and

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

, offences against property such as

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

and malicious mischief, and public order offences including

mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, means bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. When it occurs as physical and emotional abuse in the workplace, suc ...

and

breach of the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...

. Scottish criminal law can also be found in the

statutes A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

with some areas of criminal law, such as

misuse of drugs Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

and

traffic offences A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

appearing identical on both sides of the Border. Scottish criminal law can also be found in the statute books of the Scottish Parliament such as the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (2009 asp 9) and Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007 (2007 asp 11) which only apply to Scotland. In fact, the Scots requirement of

corroboration Corroborating evidence, also referred to as corroboration, is a type of evidence in law. Types and uses Corroborating evidence tends to support a proposition that is already supported by some initial evidence, therefore confirming the propositio ...

in criminal matters changes the practical prosecution of crimes derived from the same enactment. Corroboration is not required in England or in

civil cases Civil law is a major branch of the law. Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non- criminal law. The law r ...

in Scotland.

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

is one of the few

legal systems The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...

that require corroboration.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

The

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service 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 ...

(''COPFS'') provides independent public prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland (as the more recent

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

does in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

) and has extensive responsibilities in the investigation and prosecution of crime. The Crown Office is headed by the

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

, in whose name all prosecutions are carried out, and employs

Advocates Depute An advocate is a professional in the field of law. 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, ...

(for the

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 Cou ...

) and Procurators Fiscal (for the Sheriff Courts) as public prosecutors.

Private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the state. Private prosecutions are allowed in ma ...

s are very rare in Scotland and these require "Criminal Letters" from the High Court of the Justiciary. Criminal Letters are unlikely to be granted without the agreement of the

"Not proven" verdict

The Scots legal system is unique in having three possible

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engl ...

s for a criminal

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

: "

guilt Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music *Guilt (album), ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims *Guilt ( ...

y", " not guilty" and "

not proven Not proven (, ) is a verdict available to a Courts of Scotland, court of law in Scotland. Under Scots law, a Criminal procedure, criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts, one of conviction ("guilty") and two of acquittal ("not proven" and ...

". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. The 'not proven' verdict in modern Scots criminal law can be described as an historical accident. Historically, there were no set forms for verdicts used by early juries, and their role was simply to find the guilt or innocence of the accused. The role of the jury changed when it became customary in the Justice Court to compose lengthy indictments, where facts were listed which culminated in a statement of the punishable character of such conduct in general of which the accused ought to be punished for his commission of it. In these situations the role of the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

was to deliver one of the 'special verdicts' of "proven" or "not proven" for individual factual issues one-by-one. It was then left to the judge to pronounce upon the facts found "proven" whether this was sufficient to establish guilt of the crime charged. This practice persisted until the 1728 trial of Carnegie of Finhaven, where the jury's right to return a verdict of not guilty, and essentially pronounce on innocence and guilt, was re-established. By the 19th century, the legal profession had come to view these 'special verdicts' as obsolete, and yet the "not proven" verdict continued to be used. The 'not proven" verdict is often taken by juries and the media as meaning "we know they did it but there isn't enough proof'. The verdict, especially in high-profile cases, often causes controversy. A study was commissioned in September 2017) by academics at the Universities of Glasgow and Warwick, in collaboration with Ipsos Mori, to consider, among other things, the three verdict system in Scotland in order to inform future reform of the criminal justice system in Scotland.

List of current offences

Crimes against the person

*Murder *

Culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular j ...

(Comparable to the offence of manslaughter in English law) * Corporate homicide, see the ''

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to broaden the law on corporate manslaughter in the United Kingdom. The Act created a new offence respectively named ...

'' *

Assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

(this offence can be charged in an aggravated form while still being considered to be the same offence) *Hamesucken *Culpable and reckless injury *Culpable and reckless endangering of the public *Uttering threats, see ''MacKellar v Dickinson (1898)'' *Sexual offences, see

Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (asp 9) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It creates a code of sexual offences that is said to be intended to reform that area of the law. The corresponding legislation in England and Wales is the Sexu ...

and Sexual offences in Scotland *Stalking, see Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, s.39

Crimes of dishonesty

*Theft, which can be aggravated **theft by housebreaking **theft by opening lock-fast places ("OLP") (also, opening or attempting to open a lock-fast place with intent to steal) *Offences under the

Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which makes provision for a wide range of civic government matters. Effects of the Act Parts I and II of the Act deal with licensing by local authorities of a r ...

**s57 - Being within a premises with the intention to commit theft **s58 - convicted thief in possession of articles from which an intent to steal may be inferred *Embezzlement (or breach of trust and embezzlement). *Robbery *Piracy, both at common law and under the law of nations. *Hijacking. *Fraud *Forgery, with the requirement of

Uttering Uttering is a crime involving a person with the intent to defraud that knowingly sells, publishes or passes a forged or counterfeited document. More specifically, forgery creates a falsified document and uttering is the act of knowingly passing ...

(i.e. used as if it was genuine), see ''Burke v MacPhail''. *Numerous statutory frauds. * Reset and the related statutory offences. *

Extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

. *Unsolicited goods and services, see Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971. *

Bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

(principally of a judicial officer), see

Bribery Act 2010 The Bribery Act 2010 (c.23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers the criminal law relating to bribery. Introduced to Parliament in the Queen's Speech in 2009 after several decades of reports and draft bills, the Act recei ...

and the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...

. *Electoral offences under the

Representation of the People Act 1983 The Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways: * Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969. * Stated that a convicted pe ...

. *

Stouthrief Stouthrief (alternatively stouthreif) is the Scottish crime of use or threat of violence against a householder who defends themselves during a housebreaking; it is additional to any associated robbery. It is to be distinguished from the crime of ...

Crimes against property

*Trespass on Heritable property, see Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865 *

Malicious mischief Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal differenti ...

, whether riotious and will-full or intentional and reckless. *Offences under the

Explosive Substances Act 1883 The Explosive Substances Act 1883 (c. 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use (or conspire or intend to use) any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury ...

. *

Vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

, see

Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 The Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to consolidate certain enactments creating offences and relating to the criminal law of Scotland. Part I - Sexual Offences I ...

, s.52. *Fire-raising, whether wilful or culpable and reckless. *Cruelty to animals,

Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 (asp 11) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It received Royal Assent on 11 July 2006. The act consolidated, repealed and replaced many other pieces of legislation, such as the Protection of An ...

. *Sinking and destroying a ship with intent to defraud insurers, common law. Also offences under the

Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990 Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot ai ...

. *

Plagium Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor (a child under the age of legal adulthood) from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians. The term ''child abduction'' includes two leg ...

(i.e. child-stealing, and it is considered to be an aggravated form of theft).

Crimes relating to Public order and morality

*Abortion. *

Mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, means bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. When it occurs as physical and emotional abuse in the workplace, suc ...

(previously mobbing and rioting). *

Breach of the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...

, more commonly libelled as "Threatening or abusive behaviour", see

Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

, s.38. *Violation of sepulchres. *Public indecency *Indecent exposure *Sexual exposure see

, s.8. *Bigamy *Perjury *Attempted to pervert the Course of Justice *Escaping from lawful custody, see

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. This legislation merged the eight separate police forces and fire and rescue services in Scotland, plus several central agencies, into single agencies covering t ...

, s.91. *Contempt of Court *

Blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

, although criminal, no prosecutions for blasphemy have occurred since 1843.

Miscellaneous statutory offences

*Road traffic offences, see

Road Traffic Act 1988 The Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation. Contents Part I contains a number of traffic offences including causing death by dangerous drivi ...

. *Controlled and prohibited substances, see Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to restrict the production, sale and supply of a new class of psychoactive substances often referred to as "legal highs". The bill was given R ...

. *Offences relating to alcohol licensing and licensed premises, see Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. *Police obstruction or assault, see

Former offences

*Concealment of pregnancy. *Rape (at common law).Abolished by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. *Clandestine injury to women. *Lewd, indecent or libidinous practice or behaviour. *Sodomy. *Shameless indecency.Replaced with the offence of public indecency under

, s.81. *Offences under the

Forgery of Foreign Bills Act 1803 The Forgery of Foreign Bills Act 1803 (43 Geo 3 c 139) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Prior to its repeal in 2013, it created offences of forgery of foreign instruments in Scotland. Preamble The preamble read: Section 1 ...

. (Repealed).

Defences

Diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental func ...

Special defence A special defence in Scots law may be raised in criminal proceedings upon notice by the accused ahead of the trial. If established, it results in an acquittal.Tony Callahan, "Case for the defence in Scotland", ''Evening Times'' (Glasgow, Scotlan ...

Significant cases

*'' Brennan v HM Advocate'' 1977 JC 38 – authority against automatism in cases of voluntary intoxication *''

Cadder v HM Advocate ''Cadder v HM Advocate'' 010UKSC 43 (26 October 2010) is a decision in which the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom held that the way in which police in Scotland detained suspects was not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights ...

'' 010UKSC 43 - not being permitted access to a solicitor while in police custody was a breach of Article 6(1) of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

*''

Cawthorne v HM Advocate Cawthorne is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The village was once a centre of the iron and coal mining industry; today it is part of an affluent commuter belt west of Barnsley. ...

'' 1968 JC 32 *'' Crawford v HM Advocate'' 1950 JC 67 *'' Drury v HM Advocate'' 2001 SCCR 538 – provided modern definition of murder *''

Jamieson v HM Advocate ''Jamieson v HM Advocate'' is a notable legal case which established a precedent in Scotland which held that a man does not commit rape where he honestly, albeit unreasonably, believes his victim is consenting. This was a criminal case decided ...

'' 1994 SLT 537 *''

Khaliq v HM Advocate ''Khaliq and Anor v HMA'' was a Scottish criminal case decided by the High Court of Justiciary on appeal, in which it was decided that it was an offence at common law to supply materials that were otherwise legal in the knowledge that they wo ...

'' 1984 JC 23 *'' Ross v HM Advocate'' 1991 JC 210 – first authoritative recognition of non-insane automatism *''

Smart v HM Advocate ''Smart v Her Majesty's Advocate'' is a Scots law case that effectively excludes the common law doctrine of Volenti non fit injuria from Scots criminal law, when concerning assault. The case saw the accused, William Smart, who was charged with ...

'' 1975 JC 30 *'' Sutherland v HM Advocate'' 1994 SLT 634 *''

Moorov v HM Advocate ''Moorov (Samuel) v HM Advocate'' (1930 J.C. 68, 1930 S.L.T. 596)(additional citation 1930 J.C. 68) is a famous case in Scots criminal law based on criminal evidence and the admissibility of similar fact evidence. The case established a preced ...

'' 1930 JC 68 - admissibility of similar fact evidence - established a precedent named the Moorov doctrine