Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government

place for Bills of Suspension and Advocation as a mode of review of summarycourt decisions in a modern appellate regime. It is recommended that suchBills be abolished as a mode of review of court decisions by accused orconvicted persons.8.1.33 In certain situations, it may be that a convicted person wishes to challenge asummary conviction on the basis of some radical incompetency. There isforce in the argument that such cases would be better challenged in anappellate process less complex than that involved in a stated case. However,proceeding by way of a Note of Appeal, rather than stated case, might be amatter which could be authorised by the summary court on an application forthat purpose made at the same time as the application for a stated case. Thiscould be achieved by providing, in section 176 of the 1995 Act, that, in caseswhere the application concerns only the competency of the conviction, thesummary court may treat the application as if it were a Note of Appeal andreport accordingly. The case could proceed in the same way as a summaryappeal against sentence, other than in respect of the quorum provisions.8.1.34 In relation to the use of Advocation by the Crown in solemn cases, its currentuse is probably restricted to those situations in which the trial judge has madesome form of ruling, against which an appeal is not available, where thedecision effectively terminates the prosecution. It is recommended that thisprocess be abolished in favour of a right to appeal, without leave, where suchtermination is the effect of any decision of a court of first instance. This could349