Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 - Part VI - Miscellaneous and General

Miscellaneous and General

Part VI of the Act contains a number of miscellaneous provisions.

• False oaths (sections 44 to 46). Section 44 provides that it is an offence to make a false statement on oath or in a variety of declarations, returns etc. It is also an offence to seek to be entered in any professional register by means of false declarations or certificates. Section 45 provides that aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring or inciting an offence under section 44 is also an offence, and preserves the common law of perjury and fraud. Section 46 provides that the forms and ceremonies used in taking an oath are immaterial for the purpose of the section 44 offence, and provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction. These provisions were formerly in the False Oaths (Scotland) Act 1933.
• False monetary instruments (section 46A). Section 46A was inserted by the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003. It provides that it is an offence for a person to counterfeit or falsify a specified monetary instrument with the intention that it be uttered as genuine, and for a person to have in his custody or control, without lawful authority or excuse, a counterfeit or falsified monetary instrument or devices or materials designed or adapted for making such instruments. The penalties for these offences are up to 10 years imprisonment. The section applies to instruments specified in the False Monetary Instruments (Scotland) Order 2005 (SSI 2005/321), i.e. money orders, postal orders, United Kingdom postage stamps, share certificates, cheques and other bills of exchange, travellers' cheques, bankers' drafts, promissory notes, cheque cards, debit cards, and credit cards.
• Offensive weapons (section 47 to 50). Section 47 makes it an offence for a person to have any offensive weapon with him in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Section 49 makes it an offence to have a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place without good reason or lawful authority. There is a defence where the person had the article with him for use at work, for religious reasons or as part of any national costume (e.g. a sgian dubh or kirpan).The maximum penalty for these offences is 4 years imprisonment. Sections 48 and 50 provide for powers of search. These provisions were formerly in the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, and the Carrying of Knives etc. (Scotland) Act 1993.
• Racially aggravated harassment (section 50A). Section 50A was inserted by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It makes it an offence if a person-

(a) pursues a racially-aggravated course of conduct which amounts to harassment of a person and—

(i) is intended to amount to harassment of that person; or

(ii) occurs in circumstances where it would appear to a reasonable person that it would amount to harassment of that person; or

(b) acts in a manner which is racially aggravated and which causes, or is intended to cause, a person alarm or distress.

The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment is seven years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

• Reset (section 51). Section 51 ensures that the offence of resetting of property extends to the receiving of property appropriated by breach of trust and embezzlement and by falsehood, fraud and wilful imposition, as well as the receiving of property taken by theft or robbery. This provision was previously in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.
• Vandalism (section 52). Section 52 provides that aperson who, without reasonable excuse, wilfully or recklessly destroys or damages any property belonging to another shall be guilty of the offence of vandalism. Acts of wilful fireraising are excluded. The offence is triable summarily, with a maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment. This provision was previously contained in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980.