Saturday 21 July 2007

Scotland

Though Scots law is a mixed system, its heritage in civil law leads to a situation more reminiscient of a civil law jurisdiction. Here all prosecutions are carried out by Procurators Fiscal and Advocates Depute on behalf of the Lord Advocate, and, in theory, they can direct investigations by the police. In very serious cases a Procurator Fiscal, Advocate Depute or even the Lord Advocate may take charge of a police investigation. It is at the discretion of the Procurator Fiscal, Advocate Depute or Lord Advocate to take a prosecution to court and to decide on whether to prosecute it under solemn procedure or summary procedure. Other remedies are open to a prosecutor in Scotland, including fiscal fines and non-court based interventions such as rehabilitation and social work. All prosecutions are handled within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Procurators fiscal will usually refer cases involving minors to Children's Hearings, which are not courts of law, but a panel of lay members empowered to act in the interests of the child.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecutor

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