An Order for Lifelong Restriction is a sentence that can be imposed by a judge of 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 Cour ...

on serious

violent Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

and sexual offenders in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Such an Order is an

indeterminate sentence Indefinite imprisonment or indeterminate imprisonment is the imposition of a sentence by imprisonment with no definite period of time set during sentencing. It was imposed by certain nations in the past, before the drafting of the United Natio ...

will see the

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

subject to indefinite imprisonment and supervision by electronic monitoring for the rest of their lives. An offender will only be

released on licence Release on licence in England and Wales can refer to * Release from prison on temporary licence, followed by return to prison. * Release from prison on parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of ear ...

where it is determined that the risks posed to the community can be correctly and safely managed.

Process

Orders for Lifelong Restriction were implemented by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, which gives a judge of the

the power to impose a sentence for serious

and

sexual offences Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

, that includes the life imprisonment or detention of the offender. A judge of the High Court, either on their own initiative or at the request of the prosecutor, will issue a ''Risk Assessment Order'' and require the

Risk Management Authority The Risk Management Authority is an Public bodies of the Scottish Government, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government with responsibility for risk assessment, assessing and risk management, managing the risks posed by ce ...

to assess the risk posed by serious offenders, and will provide a ''Risk Assessment Report'' to the High Court. The judge may then issue an Order for Lifelong Restriction, at which point the authority will have to draw up a ''Risk Management Plan'' for the offender. After sentencing, the offender is subject to a process of

risk assessment Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: # identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and # making judgments "on the ...

and risk management by the

through a ''Risk Management Plan'', which includes ways to manage the risks from the offender in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

and, where allowed by risk assessment, through

release on licence Release on licence in England and Wales can refer to * Release from prison on temporary licence, followed by return to prison. * Release from prison on parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of earl ...

. Should an offender be released from prison or detention they will be subject to more intensive supervision, treatment, and monitoring.

Parole

Offenders who are in prison as a consequence of an Order for Lifelong Restriction must still have their case for

considered by the

Parole Board for Scotland The Parole Board for Scotland is a tribunal non-departmental public body in Scotland first established in 1967, with responsibility for parole decisions. Its decision making and operating are independent of the Scottish Government, and many of ...

. The Parole Board will sit as the Life Prisoner Tribunal when considering whether or not to grant parole. The Tribunal takes the form of an oral

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audit ...

with a legally qualified Member of the Parole Board, and two other Members. The Tribunal will hear evidence from the prisoner (with their legal representative), a representative from the prison, and they will have to consider the ''Risk Management Plan'' to understand the degree of risk posed by the Prisoner. A prisoner's case can only considered by the Parole Board where the case is referred by the Scottish Ministers.

Rules of Court

The Criminal Procedure Rules were modified by

Act of Adjournal An Act of Adjournal is secondary legislation made by the High Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal court of Scotland, to regulate the proceedings of Scottish courts hearing criminal matters. Now primarily derived from the Criminal Proced ...

in 2006 to give effect to: * A prosecutor's right to request a Risk Assessment Order * A prosecutor's right to appeal against the imposition on Order for Lifelong Restriction * A convict's right to object to the Risk Assessment Order and to an Order for Lifelong Restriction

References

{{CriminalJusticeScotland Sentencing (law) Penal system in Scotland