Ramsay Hall
Ramsay is a member of Brodies' Corporate Crime and Investigations practice. He qualified into the team in 2012 and has experience of providing investigation support as well as representation in prosecutions across a range of sectors. In particular, he has provided advice on fraud, bribery and corruption, VAT evasion offences, money laundering, environmental offences, international sanctions and actions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Ramsay regularly represents clients facing prosecution in Sheriff Courts throughout Scotland. He has both trial and criminal debate experience. He has also worked closely with counsel in respect of solemn proceedings.
Practice Area
Panel
- Scottish Panel
Qualified Year
- 2012
Membership
- Law Society of Scotland
Education
- University of Glasgow, LLB (Hons), Glasgow Graduate School of Law, Diploma of Legal Practice
6 Contributions by Ramsay Hall
PRACTICE NOTES
Arrest, custody and suspect rights in Scotland: police and regulator powers, questioning, searches, custody limits, reviews and liberation under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016
Temporary justice measures:
Temporary measures remain in force across Scotland’s justice system, which may affect the usual practice set out in this Practice Note and its guidance. For further detail, see Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Scotland tracker [Archived]—Corporate Crime in Scotland.
Practitioners will recognise the former concepts of ‘detention’ and ‘arrest’ under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (CP(S)A 1995). Insofar as relevant to this Practice Note, the pertinent CP(S)A 1995 provisions—covering police questioning and access to a solicitor—were repealed by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (CJ(S)A 2016), and superseded.
The 2016 Act replaced ‘detention’ and ‘arrest’ with a single, unitary concept of ‘arrest’ and set out provisions for police custody, the rights of arrested persons, police powers, police questioning, and release from police custody, accordingly. It also introduced the status of ‘officially accused’ persons recognised in the legislation, as set out in statute therein.
Under CJ(S)A 2016, s 1, police constables are empowered to arrest, without a warrant, a person suspected of having committed, or committing, an offence in Scotland, where appropriate. The legal basis for arrest, relevant procedural matters, the rights afforded to arrested persons, and the duties imposed on, and powers exercisable by, police constables are outlined below for practitioners. Two points...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Criminal fraud compared: Scotland versus England and Wales—offences, corporate liability, evidential rules, investigation, prosecution and sentencing
Criminal fraud in Scotland
How criminal fraud is defined, investigated and prosecuted (and by whom) differs across the UK. In Scotland, the majority of prosecutions rely on the broad, catch‑all common law offence of fraud, though the common law offences of uttering and embezzlement may apply to specific facts and circumstances. See below—Common law fraud: general, and Embezzlement and uttering.
There are also various statutory offences that contain elements of criminal fraud. Some originate in legislation that is specific to Scotland, while others derive from UK‑wide enactments. Importantly, neither the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006) nor the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968) applies in Scotland. However, TA 1968, s 14 allows that Act to extend to the commission in Scotland of certain acts involving theft of mail bags or postal packets.
There are further differences between Scotland and England and Wales in how criminal fraud is investigated and prosecuted. The graphic below sets out the principal distinctions between these jurisdictions in relation to fraud offences, evidential rules, and investigation...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Fatal Accident Inquiries in Scotland: reporting to the Procurator Fiscal, SFIU investigation, mandatory/discretionary grounds, procedure (parties, hearings, evidence), findings/recommendations, delays, expenses, judicial review and self-incrimination
This Practice Note sets out the purpose and scope of . For guidance on the comparable process in England and Wales for unexpected deaths, known as coroners’ inquests, see Practice Note: The purpose and scope of coroners' inquests.
Reporting of deaths and the Scottish Fatalities Investigations Unit
Following a death in Scotland, burial or cremation cannot proceed until a medical certificate stating the cause of death has been issued. This document—known as the Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death (MCCD or Form 11)—must be completed by a doctor and set out the time, date, place and cause of death, identifying any conditions directly leading to the death and any antecedent conditions.
Some deaths must be notified to the Procurator Fiscal. A ‘reportable death’ is one not wholly attributable to natural causes, or one potentially due in whole or in part to natural causes but arising in specified circumstances. Those circumstances include:
where a medical practitioner, to the best of their knowledge and belief, cannot determine the cause of death (the basis on which most sudden, unexplained deaths are reported)
any death of a child:
which is
...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Police questioning of suspects in Scotland: powers, rights, solicitor’s role, interview conduct, interpretation, corporate suspects and post-interview outcomes
There are three categories of suspect who might be interviewed:
an individual not under arrest about whom a police officer has reasonable grounds to suspect has committed, or is committing, an offence. A constable may ask that person certain questions
suspects held in police custody. The protections for those questioned while in custody are set out in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (CJ(S)A 2016)
a person who attends a police station or other location voluntarily to be questioned as a suspect. Where Police Scotland, or a regulatory body with powers to question, believes a corporate crime has been, or is being, committed, they will often invite an individual to attend for voluntary suspect questioning
Powers to question different types of suspect
Section 13 powers
Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (CP(S)A 1995) gives a constable authority to put specified questions to an individual where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has committed, or is committing, an offence. The details a constable may require the person to provide are the person’s:...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Search of premises and property in Scottish criminal investigations: police powers, warrant applications and execution, and grounds and procedure for challenging warrants
This Practice Note outlines the legal powers to search premises and property during a criminal inquiry in Scotland. It further considers the scope for challenging search warrants in Scottish criminal investigations. For guidance on obtaining warrants issued by the criminal courts in England and Wales, see the following Practice Notes: Obtaining and executing a search warrant under PACE 1984; Obtaining excluded material and special procedure material under PACE 1984; Search of premises; and Seizure and retention of property.
The principal powers to search premises and property in Scotland fall into these categories:
under the terms of an arrest warrant
by consent
where urgency dictates
under the authority of a search warrant
Search under the terms of an arrest warrant
Where the Crown decides to bring proceedings on either summary complaint or petition, the terms of the complaint or petition itself will grant warrant to search for and apprehend (arrest) the accused person. In such circumstances, the authority arises from the initiating document. For information on how criminal proceedings are commenced in Scotland, see Practice Note: The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland...
Corporate Crime
CHECKLISTS
Scottish COPFS self-reporting v DPAs in the rest of the UK: comparative checklist on scope, court oversight, financial settlement, timing and regulator engagement (updated for COPFS economic crime guidance)
STOP PRESS
This Practice Note is being revised to incorporate the new guidance from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) - Self report policy: guidance to businesses reporting economic crime offences - under which businesses may now self‑report a range of economic crime offences. There are significant differences between the self‑reporting initiative operated by COPFS in Scotland and the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) regime running in the rest of the UK. Any business that discovers corruption within the organisation should ensure it understands these distinctions before deciding which authority to contact. This Checklist sets out the main differences between the Scottish self‑reporting initiative and the DPA regime applied elsewhere in the UK.
Introduction to the two regimes
Scottish self-reporting initiative
The Scottish self‑reporting initiative was launched on 1 July 2011 when the Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010), a UK‑wide statute, took effect. The Scottish initiative applies solely to offences under BA 2010 or analogous bribery offences that applied before BA 2010 commenced. Under the regime, a self‑reporting business can seek to...
Corporate Crime
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