Scotland court deadlines
When does the applicable section 136 prosecution period end?
Section 136 ordinarily uses six months after the qualifying statutory contravention or last continuous contravention. SSI 2024/246 saves the twelve-month modification for offences alleged before the end of November 29, 2024. A continuous contravention crossing that cutoff requires separate review. Scope and valid commencement remain essential.
- Period
- Six ordinary or twelve saved calendar months after the actual event
- Trigger
- actual contravention date or the actual last date of a qualifying continuous contravention
- Rule
- Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21
Current cited source. Supported actual events run from 2024-01-01 through 2028-12-31. Pure calendar endpoints are bounded through 2050-12-31. Later legal changes require review.
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When does the applicable section 136 prosecution period end?
Section 136 ordinarily uses six months after the qualifying statutory contravention or last continuous contravention. SSI 2024/246 saves the twelve-month modification for offences alleged before the end of November 29, 2024. A continuous contravention crossing that cutoff requires separate review. Scope and valid commencement remain essential.
Responsible actor. Person using the exact applicable statutory obligation, action, complaint or moratorium branch.
Establish actual contravention date or the actual last date of a qualifying continuous contravention.
This is an offence triable only summarily consisting of contravention of an enactment. The enactment does not fix another limit or exclude section 136.
The section 136 ordinary six-month or saved twelve-month period from the established actual event. The offence’s statutory scope, valid commencement and execution without undue delay remain separate.
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21How does this provision count time?
- Use the corresponding calendar date after the established source event. A target month without that date requires separate review.
- No automatic weekend, bank-holiday or office-closure extension applies. Complete the actual legally required act through its applicable route and cutoff.
- Check the actual applicable source conditions and complete the required statutory process.
Use the corresponding calendar date after the established source event. A target month without that date requires separate review.
No automatic weekend, bank-holiday or office-closure extension applies. Complete the actual legally required act through its applicable route and cutoff.
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictional established facts. The selected statutory event occurs on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Every stated scope condition is established.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictional established facts. The selected statutory event occurs on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Every stated scope condition is established. Use the corresponding calendar date 6 months after the established event. No court-holiday extension is inferred. | Thursday, April 15, 2027 |
| Example 2. Material procedural branch | Fictional established facts. The selected statutory event occurs on Monday, February 28, 2028. Every stated scope condition is established. Use the corresponding calendar date 6 months after the established event. No court-holiday extension is inferred. | Monday, August 28, 2028 |
| Example 3. Closed-day boundary | Fictional established facts. The selected statutory event occurs on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Every stated scope condition is established. The recipient office is confirmed closed on the ordinary endpoint. That closure does not change this statutory calculation. Use the corresponding calendar date 6 months after the established event. No court-holiday extension is inferred. | Thursday, April 15, 2027 |
Fictitious established facts. These examples do not establish eligibility, effective service, relief or a direction.
Try these dates in the calculatorWhich conditions and exceptions apply?
- Source condition 1
- This is an offence triable only summarily consisting of contravention of an enactment. The enactment does not fix another limit or exclude section 136.
- Source condition 2
- I established the actual contravention date. For a continuous contravention, I established its actual first and last dates. A discovery, report, complaint or hearing date is not substituted.
- Source condition 3
- Offences alleged before the end of November 29, 2024 retain the twelve-month modification. Ordinary later offences use six months. A continuous contravention spanning that cutoff requires separate review.
- Source condition 4
- Under section 136(3), warrant grant counts as commencement only if the warrant is executed without undue delay. The calculation does not establish timely execution.
- Source condition 5
- No special statutory period, exclusion, saved historical regime outside this model, actual order or different offence category changes the selected period. No holiday extension is assumed.
- The section 136 ordinary six-month or saved twelve-month period from the established actual event. The offence’s statutory scope, valid commencement and execution without undue delay remain separate.
- No. Section 136(3) treats warrant grant as commencement only if the warrant is executed without undue delay. This calculation does not establish execution or satisfy that condition.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When does the applicable section 136 prosecution period end?
When does the applicable section 136 prosecution period end?
Section 136 ordinarily uses six months after the qualifying statutory contravention or last continuous contravention. SSI 2024/246 saves the twelve-month modification for offences alleged before the end of November 29, 2024. A continuous contravention crossing that cutoff requires separate review. Scope and valid commencement remain essential.
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21Does granting a warrant always establish timely commencement?
No. Section 136(3) treats warrant grant as commencement only if the warrant is executed without undue delay. This calculation does not establish execution or satisfy that condition.
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21How are weekends and office closures handled?
No automatic weekend, bank-holiday or office-closure extension applies. Complete the actual legally required act through its applicable route and cutoff.
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 136; SSI 2024/246 regs 2(a),3; 2022 Act Schedule paragraph 21 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Expiry November 29, 2024 and saved earlier offences | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Saved twelve-month modification to both section 136(1) periods | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |