§ 45. Mr. Maxtonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will make a statement about the system whereby indictments are served by the public prosecuting services in High Court cases, in view of the recent instances in which an indictment involving charges of embezzlement was held to be incompetently served and the prosecution had to be abandoned.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe indictment in the case to which my hon. Friend refers would have been competently served if the address at which it was in fact served had been the address given by the accused in the bail bond subscribed by him. It was not: the address 211W at which it was served was the address contained in the petition on which the accused appeared before the sheriff for committal for trial.
§ 48. Mr. Willie W. Hamiltonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he has instituted an inquiry into the way in which the Crown Office, procurator fiscal service and the police co-operate over the serving of High Court indictments.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandAs I said in my answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton), the indictment in the case referred to would have been competently served if the address at which it was served had been the address given by the accused in the bail bond subscribed by him. It was not: the address at which it was served was the address contained in the petition on which the accused appeared before the sheriff for committal for trial.
The procurator fiscal service and Crown Office staff are to be reminded of the importance of ensuring that the domicile at which an indictment is to be served is that shown on the bail bond subscribed by the accused.
50. Mr. Milanasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will make a statement on the operation of the 29-day rule and the 110-day rule.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandAn accused person awaiting trial, whether in custody or on bail, must have the indictment served on him 29 clear days before the date of his trial, that is, excluding the date of service of the indictment and the date of trial itself. Further, if the last day of the 29 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or court holiday it does not count, and the period is extended to include the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or court holiday.
The 110-day rule is designed to prevent delay in bringing accused persons who have been detained in custody to trial. Such a trial must commence within 110 days of the accused's committal for trial by the sheriff. Failure to commence the trial within 110 days, unless the period has previously been extended by the court, results in the accused being liberated and freed from further prosecution on that charge.