Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1999 |
| Type | executive non-departmental public body |
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Headquarters | Portland House, 17 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 5AH |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent department | Justice Directorate, Scottish Government |
| Parent agency | Scottish Government |
| Website | sccrc |
| Map | |
Scotland in the UK and Europe
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The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, established by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as amended by the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997).
The Commission has the statutory power to refer cases dealt with on indictment (ie solemn procedure cases) to the High Court of Justiciary. This was extended to include summary cases by Statutory Instrument on 31 March 1999, immediately before the Commission took up its role in April 1999.
Though funded by the Scottish Government, investigations are carried out independently of Scottish Ministers, with the Commission being accountable to the Scottish Parliament on matters of finance and administration.
The Commission is headed by Chief Executive, Gerard Sinclair, and staffed by a Director of Corporate Services, 2 Senior Legal Officers, 6 Legal Officers and 3 admin support staff. Eight Legal Officers and one Senior Legal Officer are required to deal with the Commission's normal case load. In order to review the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Commission sought approval from the Scottish Executive Justice Department for the appointment of 2 additional Legal Officers and 1 Senior Legal Officer.
The SCCRC has a Board of Management of 8 members appointed by Her Majesty The Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister of Scotland. As of 20 May 2016, its current members are:
By statute, at least one third of the Commission's members are required to be legally qualified (either an advocate or solicitor of at least 10 years' standing) and at least two thirds must have knowledge or experience of the criminal justice system.
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