A
procurator fiscal is a public prosecutor in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland (similar to a
coronerA coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
in other legal systems), conduct
Fatal Accident InquiriesA fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland...
(a form of
inquestInquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
unique to the
Scottish legal systemScots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
) and handle criminal complaints against the police (administrative complaints are handled by the
Police Complaints Commissioner for ScotlandThe Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland is a non-departmental public body in Scotland responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made by members of the public against police forces in Scotland....
). They also receive reports from specialist reporting agencies such as
Her Majesty's Revenue and CustomsHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
.
For the majority of
crimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s in Scotland the procurators fiscal present cases for the prosecution in the
SheriffSheriff courts provide the local court service in Scotland, with each court serving a sheriff court district within a sheriffdom.Sheriff courts deal with a myriad of legal procedures which include:*Solemn and Summary Criminal cases...
,
DistrictA District Court was the least authoritative type of criminal court in Scotland. The court operated under summary procedure and dealt primarily with minor criminal offences...
and
Justice of the Peace CourtA Justice of the Peace Court is the least authoritative type of criminal court in Scotland. The court operates under summary procedure and deals primarily with less serious criminal offences.-History:...
s, and the case for the
defenceA defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
is presented either by the accused, a
solicitorSolicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, or an
advocateAn advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
. The solicitor will work for a firm of solicitors, or in certain areas of Scotland could be a
public defenderThe term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...
working for the Public Defence Solicitors' Office.
The procurator fiscal has the discretion not to prosecute and pursue alternatives free from political interference, but is always subject to the directions of Crown Office and the
Lord AdvocateHer Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , 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...
.
Origins
The origin of the office is uncertain but, as the title suggests, the procurator fiscal originally was an officer of the sheriff (the local law enforcement officer and
judgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
) with financial (fiscal) responsibilities; the procurator fiscal collected fines. However, such responsibilities had been eclipsed in the course of the eighteenth century by their duty as prosecutor in the sheriff court with the passage of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1701. In this capacity they gave concurrence in private prosecutions and prosecuted on behalf of
the CrownThe Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. The Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1867 gave procurators fiscal full responsibility in law for prosecution of all criminal acts in Scotland.
Originally the fiscal was the sheriff's official and tenure of the office was at the pleasure of the sheriff. With the decline of private prosecution the fiscal came to be regarded more and more as under the control of the Lord Advocate. In 1776 the
governmentHer Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
started to pay procurators fiscal to take precognitions and in 1907 the right of appointing procurators fiscal was transferred to the Lord Advocate.
Prosecution of crimes
Procurators fiscal make preliminary investigations into criminal cases, take written statements from witnesses (known as
precognitionPrecognition in Scots law is the practice of taking a factual statement from witnesses before a trial is enjoined. This is often undertaken by trainee lawyers or precognition officers employed by firms. Many of these are former policemen....
) and are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of crime. This includes the power to direct the
policeThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
in their investigation, but except for serious crimes such as murder the police normally complete their enquiries before involving the procurator fiscal.
In Sheriff Court cases, once someone has been charged with an offence and remanded in custody,
the CrownThe Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
must bring the case to a
preliminary hearingWithin some criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecutor, to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial...
within 110 days.
The procurator fiscal has never been obliged to prosecute and can choose the level at which to prosecute (either through
solemnIn many common law jurisdictions , an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury...
or
summaryA summary offence is a criminal act in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded with summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment .- United States :...
procedure). The
defendantA defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
has no right to choose a
jury trialA jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
, nor can a victim on their own decide to press charges, as the decision on whether to try by jury or summarily belongs to the prosecutor. Until 1987, however, their discretion only extended to the degree to which they should prosecute, if at all; there were no alternatives to prosecution. The
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1987 gave procurators fiscal the power to offer fixed penalties instead of prosecution (a
fiscal fineA fiscal fine is a form of deferred prosecution agreement in Scotland issued by a procurator fiscal for certain summary offences as an alternative to prosecution....
), at the time limited to a maximum of £25 and subsequently increased to £300.
Since then these options have expanded to giving a warning, fiscal fines,
compensation ordersIn jurisprudence, reparation is replenishment of a previously inflicted loss by the criminal to the victim. Monetary restitution is a common form of reparation...
,
work orderA work order or job order is an order received by an organization from a customer or client, or an order created internally within the organization...
s, road traffic
fixed penaltiesFixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the 1950s to deal with minor parking offences. Originally used by police and traffic wardens, their use has extended to other public officials and authorities, as has the range of offences for which they can be used.In recent years, this has...
or diversion from prosecution into
social workSocial Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
, psychological counselling or
psychiatric treatmentPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
.
Deaths
All suspicious, sudden and accidental deaths must be reported to the procurator fiscal, and they have a responsibility to identify if any criminal action has occurred and, where appropriate, prosecute. Where a criminal offence is suspected to have occurred the procurator fiscal will instruct the local police to investigate.
Fatal accidents can be subject to a
Fatal Accident InquiryA fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland...
, a form of judicial inquiry akin to an
inquestInquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
but conducted without a
juryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
. Fatal accident inquiries are conducted in the
Sheriff CourtSheriff courts provide the local court service in Scotland, with each court serving a sheriff court district within a sheriffdom.Sheriff courts deal with a myriad of legal procedures which include:*Solemn and Summary Criminal cases...
. An inquiry must be held for all deaths in custody and fatal accidents, with other accidental deaths subject to inquiry at the discretion of the procurator fiscal.
Serious crimes
For the most serious crimes, the case will not be directly prosecuted by the procurator fiscal. Instead, the case will be heard at the
High Court of JusticiaryThe High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
and the prosecution will be made in the name of the
Lord AdvocateHer Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , 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...
by an Advocate Depute.
Areas
There are eleven procurators fiscal in Scotland, each covering a geographical area or
jurisdictionJurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
with a central office. Outside of
Strathclyderight|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994...
, these areas typically correspond with constabulary areas for the territorial police forces in Scotland. They are (areas in Strathclyde marked with an asterisk):
- Argyll and Clyde
Argyll and Clyde is a present area of operations for one of Scotland's Procurators Fiscal.It is also a former health board area. It consists of Argyll and Bute, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, western West Dunbartonshire, and western East Renfrewshire....
(in PaisleyPaisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
)*
- Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
(in KilmarnockKilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
)*
- Central
Central Scotland Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire . The headquarters of the force are at Randolphfield House in Stirling....
(in StirlingStirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
)
- Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for the council area of Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.The police force was formed in 1948 as an amalgamation of the police forces of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and Wigtownshire, and preceded the creation of...
(in DumfriesDumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
)
- Fife
Fife Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council area of Fife.The area policed by Fife Constabulary has a resident population of just over 350,000, almost a third of whom live in one of the three principal towns of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes...
(in KirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
)
- Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
*
- Grampian
Grampian Police is the territorial police force of the northeast region of Scotland, covering the council areas of Aberdeenshire, the City of Aberdeen, and Moray . The Force area also covers some of the North Sea, giving Grampian Police the responsibility of policing the oil and gas platforms of...
(in AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
)
- Highlands and Islands
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied...
(in InvernessInverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
)
- Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
(in HamiltonHamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
)*
- Lothian and Borders
Lothian and Borders Police is the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian...
(in EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
)
- Tayside
Tayside Police is the territorial police force covering the Scottish council areas of Angus, City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross . The total area covered by the force is with a population of 388,000....
(in DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
)
Court of the Lord Lyon
A procurator fiscal is appointed to the
Court of the Lord LyonThe Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of...
, which is a civil and criminal court dealing with
Scottish heraldryHeraldry in Scotland, while broadly similar to that practised in England and elsewhere in western Europe, has its own distinctive features. Its heraldic executive is separate from that of the rest of the United Kingdom.-Executive:...
and
genealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
in Scotland. This Court is unique to Scots culture with heraldry playing an important role, particularly in relation to the
clan systemScottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
.
Coats of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
that are registered are required to pay a fee to the Crown and must adhere to specific rules concerning their shape, colour and imagery.
If any of the rules concerning a coat of arms – also known as "an achievement" – are broken, it is the procurator fiscal's job, as the independent official prosecutor of the court, to determine whether they should initiate criminal proceedings.
See also
Staatsanwaltschaft - The German State Prosecutor, who exercises a similar role