Following the answer to question S7W-04191 by Ruth Charteris on 22 October 2026, for what reason it considers that the absence of a publish…

Investigative functions are exercised within a well-established legal and procedural framework of safeguards. That framework includes legislation, common law rules and principles, international obligations and conventions, including the European Convention on Human Rights, Lord Advocate's Guidelines, judicial oversight, and operational policies and procedures governing the investigation of crime. These are what ensure a that investigative functions have operated with established legal and procedural safeguards during development of the Code of Practice.The Code of Practice brings together and articulates in one place the existing principles and procedures applicable to the exercise of investigative functions. The legal powers under which investigative functions are exercised, and the safeguards governing their exercise, continue to derive from the wider statutory, legal and procedural framework within which those functions operate, not the Code itself. The Code simply brings those principles and procedures together in a single framework and supports their consistent application.