Scottish Sentencing Council

Scottish Sentencing Council

Agency overview
Formed	19 October 2015; 9 years ago (19 October 2015)
Type	Advisory non-departmental public body
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Headquarters	Parliament House, Edinburgh, EH1 1RQ
Agency executives	Lady Dorrian, Lord Justice Clerk and Chair Ondine Tennant, Secretary to the Council
Parent agency	Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
Key document	Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010
Website	www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk
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The Scottish Sentencing Council (Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle binn na h-Alba) is an advisory non-departmental public body in Scotland that produces sentencing guidelines for use in the High Court of Justiciary, sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts. Judges, sheriffs, and justices of the peace must use the guidelines to inform the sentence they pronounce against a convict, and they must give reasons for not following the guidelines.

The Scottish Sentencing Council was established by the Scottish Ministers on 19 October 2015 under powers granted by the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. All sentencing guidelines are submitted to the High Court of Justiciary for approval, and the High Court may approve, amend, or reject the guidelines produced by the Council.