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The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 included provision for complainers in certain sexual offence cases, to request a transcript free of charge.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) records solemn criminal proceedings using a digital audio recording system. The recorded proceedings are retained by the SCTS, for a set period of time, in line with set retention periods, however they are not routinely transcribed. Where a transcript is required, this is done by an external agency who is contracted by the SCTS.
Legally, full transcripts cannot always be provided. Transcripts of evidence in Criminal Trials are governed by Section 94 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Transcripts of Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Order 1993. Please see Criminal proceedings transcripts for more details.
Under UKGDPR, individuals have the right to access and receive a copy of their personal data. This route of access is commonly referred to as a subject access request.
If a transcript is provided, it is likely that some of the text will be redacted. This is to ensure compliance with data protection principles.
The SCTS has a contract with Epiq Global to carry out all transcription requests.
You can request a transcript if you are the complainer or the complainer’s representative, and:
The transcript is for a case heard in the High Court and it involved a charge(s) under section 288C(2) of the 1995 Act – this includes rape and sexual assault.
The trial commenced on or after 31 December 2006. This date is informed by the introduction of digital recording within the SCTS.
Please complete the request form if you would like to request a transcript and you meet the above requirements.
You will be required to provide identification along with your request. Please provide two official documents, which between them clearly show:
Your name
Your date of birth
Your current address
For example, a driving license, birth/adoption certificate, passport and any other official document that shows your name and address.
If you are submitting the request on another person’s behalf, please also provide proof of their identity alongside written authorisation to act upon their behalf.
Completed forms should be sent to: correspondence@scotcourts.gov.uk
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You will be asked to provide details about which parts of the proceedings you are asking to be transcribed. To assist with this, the following table breaks down the parts of the process (please note that evidence relating to closed court proceedings can only be made available to applicants to which the evidence relates. You will not be entitled to the evidence of other complainers, if applicable):
|
Stage |
What Generally Happens |
When does it happen |
|
Jury ballot |
Preliminary matters.
Jury selected (remotely). |
On day 1 of the trial, after the accused has pled not guilty |
|
Jury sworn in |
Indictment and special defences read to the jury.
Oaths/affirmation of jurors administered.
Judge provides written directions. |
After the ballot and usually in the morning of day 2 of the trial, however it can be in the afternoon of day 1 if jurors are balloted that morning. |
|
Crown case |
Evidence led by the crown in support of the libel.
Objections to evidence.
Points of law at the close of the crown case. |
After judges provide written directions. |
|
Defence case (Evidence may not have been led) |
Evidence led on behalf of the accused.
Objections to evidence. |
If this stage happens it happens after the crown case. |
|
Closing speeches |
Crown and the defence address the Jury.
Possible further legal submissions. |
This happens at the conclusion of all the evidence. |
|
Judges charge |
Judges gives the jury directions.
Jury are then sent out to consider their verdict. |
This happens after speeches have concluded. |
|
Verdict |
Jury return their verdict.
|
This happens when the jury are ready. |
When an accused is found guilty there will usually be a sentencing hearing, this does not normally form part of the trial proceedings and therefore a transcript cannot be provided under this process.
However, separate from this process, you are entitled to information relating to the outcome of the proceedings under the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014.
Further information can be found on the SCTS website. You will see from that you are entitled to request information regarding the final decision of the court in the case, (or in any appeal following that decision), and any reasons for it. You can do this by completing the Victim and Witnesses Request for Information form. This can then be sent to:-
The High Court of Justiciary,
Parliament House,
11 Parliament Square,
Edinburgh EH1 1RQ
or emailed to supreme.courts@scotcourts.gov.uk
The SCTS will check that the digital recording of the trial is available. If it is, the SCTS will advise you when the recording has been sent to the transcription service. There may be some occasions where the recording is unavailable, for example where the recording has failed. If this happens the SCTS will advise you of this.
It should be noted that whilst all efforts are taken to ensure accuracy of the transcript, it is not possible to guarantee 100% accuracy. This could be for a number of reasons, for example softly spoken witnesses may not be picked up or there may be sound interference picked up by the recording equipment.
It should also be noted that whilst every effort is being made to ensure that participants are able to gain as much from this process as possible, in some instances it may not be possible to include copies of the full court transcripts due to data protection regulations and the privacy of 3rd parties. In such cases, partial transcripts may be provided with some text redacted.
Whilst we will endeavour to have your transcript sent to you as soon as possible, this may take longer if demand is high. The length of a transcript, and the amount of redaction work required, can also have a bearing on the time it will take to prepare a transcript for issuing.
If you require your transcript within a specific time-period, please ensure this is recorded in your request form, outlining the reasons for this request.
Once the transcript has been prepared, and the SCTS has carried out any redaction work required, the SCTS will contact you to discuss how the transcript will be sent to you.
The SCTS is committed to ensuring all personal information is collected and processed in accordance with data protection law. For further information, see the SCTS privacy notice.
The Scottish Government and justice partners are committed to working together to improve victims’ experiences wherever possible, working towards a trauma informed justice system. We know that the issues which lead to the justice journey are very often traumatic and it is important that the processes within the system minimise further trauma or re-traumatisation and help recovery.
It may be the case that the transcript provided includes information which would not normally be in the public domain due to the protection afforded to evidence given in a closed court which is likely to be of a sensitive and personal nature.
With that in mind, we would ask that complainers consider the implications of having access to a transcript and the impact on others (including the ability to cause further trauma to others) should it be shared or become more widely available online. Complainers are therefore requested not to share the transcripts.
Whilst it is intended that the transcript will support recovery from trauma, the content of the transcript may in itself have the potential for re-traumatisation. In these circumstances, it is important to know that there are a number of organisations that can offer support.
More detail on these organisations can be found at: Get support as a victim or witness of crime
If you have any queries regarding your request, please contact SCTS at correspondence@scotcourts.gov.uk
If you have a query in relation to policy development for court transcripts, please contact the Scottish Government at court.transcriptspilot@gov.scot