Written Question · S3W-33456 · Session 3
What the extent is of the involvement of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal staff in assisting other prosecution authorities outwith Scotla…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the extent is of the involvement of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal staff in assisting other prosecution authorities outwith Scotland and particularly the extent of this involvement in Afghanistan.
The answer
David Glancy, Procurator Fiscal has been seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has been based in Afghanistan as part of a UK team since October 2008 to provide assistance and training to the prosecution authorities.
Two members of legal staff of the Crown Office International Co-operation Unit are members of the European Judicial Network a network of prosecutors who provide guidance and assistance on national law to each other.
A member of legal staff from the Crown Office International Co-operation Unit is currently based within Eurojust in the Hague. Eurojust is the EU''s judicial co-operation unit staffed by lawyers and judges from all Member States of the EU.
The Crown Office is designated as the central authority in Scotland for the receipt and issue of request for international mutual legal assistance to and from designated authorities in other countries. The Lord Advocate may nominate a Court in Scotland to recover evidence from witnesses and may direct a prosecutor to make application to a Court to crave the issue of a search warrant.
The Crown Agent is designated as a central authority for the receipt and execution of European Arrest Warrants issued by judicial authorities within the European Union. The Crown Agent may only issue an European Arrest Warrant to the police for execution if satisfied the warrant meets the statutory criteria in the Extradition Act 2003. The decision whether the person should be surrendered to the requesting state is a matter for the Sheriff at Edinburgh. The Crown Agent may also issue European Arrest Warrants to other designated central authorities in the EU Member States to seek surrender of fugitives from justice in Scotland.
There are no bilateral treaties between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan providing for mutual legal assistance or extradition. A request for extradition received from Afghanistan would be received by the Scottish Ministers who, if satisfied the request meets the statutory criteria would certify the request. Crown Office would then crave a warrant to arrest from the sheriff at Edinburgh. No such request has been received or issued.
Two members of legal staff of the Crown Office International Co-operation Unit are members of the European Judicial Network a network of prosecutors who provide guidance and assistance on national law to each other.
A member of legal staff from the Crown Office International Co-operation Unit is currently based within Eurojust in the Hague. Eurojust is the EU''s judicial co-operation unit staffed by lawyers and judges from all Member States of the EU.
The Crown Office is designated as the central authority in Scotland for the receipt and issue of request for international mutual legal assistance to and from designated authorities in other countries. The Lord Advocate may nominate a Court in Scotland to recover evidence from witnesses and may direct a prosecutor to make application to a Court to crave the issue of a search warrant.
The Crown Agent is designated as a central authority for the receipt and execution of European Arrest Warrants issued by judicial authorities within the European Union. The Crown Agent may only issue an European Arrest Warrant to the police for execution if satisfied the warrant meets the statutory criteria in the Extradition Act 2003. The decision whether the person should be surrendered to the requesting state is a matter for the Sheriff at Edinburgh. The Crown Agent may also issue European Arrest Warrants to other designated central authorities in the EU Member States to seek surrender of fugitives from justice in Scotland.
There are no bilateral treaties between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan providing for mutual legal assistance or extradition. A request for extradition received from Afghanistan would be received by the Scottish Ministers who, if satisfied the request meets the statutory criteria would certify the request. Crown Office would then crave a warrant to arrest from the sheriff at Edinburgh. No such request has been received or issued.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S3W-33456 by reference.