Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968

Part I — Succession, Construction of Deeds, Etc., in Cases of Illegitimacy

Rights in estates of deceased persons in cases of illegitimacy

Intestate succession in cases of illegitimacy

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Right of illegitimate children to legitim

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The following section shall be inserted in the Act of 1964 after section 10 thereof and shall have effect in relation to the estate of any person dying after the commencement of this Act:—

(10A) The illegitimate children of any person who dies shall have the like right to legitim out of that person's estate as they would have had, according to the law in force immediately before the commencement of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968, if they had been born legitimate, and any enactment (including any enactment contained in this Act), and any rule of law, in force immediately before such commencement which has effect in relation to legitim shall apply accordingly.

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Consequential modification of Succession (Scotland) Act 1964

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In relation to the estate of any person dying after the commencement of this Act, the Act of 1964 shall have effect subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1 to this Act, being modifications consequential on the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this Act.

Amendment of law with respect to right of illegitimate child to aliment after parent's death

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• (1) Where a person dying after the commencement of this Act (hereafter in this section referred to as " the deceased ") is survived by an illegitimate child, there shall be available to or in respect of that child the like right to aliment—

• (a) out of the deceased's estate,

• (b) from any person who has received property which was comprised in that estate, to the extent that that person was enriched by receiving that property,

in respect of any period after the death of the deceased as would have been available if the child had been born legitimate ; and in respect of any such period neither the deceased's estate nor any person (other than the child's other parent) who has received property as aforesaid shall be liable for the payment of any sum in respect of the aliment of the child (whether under a decree of a court or otherwise) except by virtue of this subsection or (subject to subsection (2) of this section) of an agreement which provides for the payment of such a sum.

• (2) Where at the date of the deceased's death there is subsisting an agreement entered into before the commencement of this Act in which provision is made for the payment of any sum in respect of the aliment of an illegitimate child of the deceased, and in terms of that agreement any such sum falls to be paid in respect of a period after the death of the deceased, the court, on the application of any person appearing to them to be interested, and after giving to other persons appearing to them to be interested an opportunity of being heard, may if they think fit make such order—

• (a) varying the terms of the said agreement, so far as it provides for the payment of such a sum in respect of any such period, or

• (b) directing that the agreement, so far as it so provides, shall cease to have effect,

as may appear to them, having regard to the foregoing provisions of this Act and to all the other circumstances of the case, to be just and equitable; and the court may make such order either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as they may think just.

• (3) In this section " court" means either the Court of Session or the sheriff.

Construction of deeds, etc.

Construction of references to relationship in certain circumstances

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• (1) In deducing any relationship for the purpose of ascertaining the person or persons entitled to benefit under a provision contained in any deed, persons shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be taken to be or, as the case may be, to have been, related to each other notwithstanding that the relationship existing between them is or was an illegitimate one only; and any rule of law to the contrary shall cease to have effect.

• (2) In this section—

• (a) " deed " includes any disposition, contract, instrument or writing whether inter vivos or mortis causa,

• (b) " relationship " includes relationship of the whole and of the half blood, and relationship by affinity, and " related " shall be construed accordingly.

• (3) This section shall apply only in relation to deeds executed after the commencement of this Act, and in the case of a deed made in the exercise of a special power of appointment shall apply only where the deed creating the power is executed after such commencement.

• (4) This section shall apply in relation to a provision made after the commencement of this Act otherwise than by deed as it applies in relation to a provision made in a deed.

• (5) Nothing in this section shall—

• (a) affect the construction of any enactment, or

• (b) apply in relation to the succession to or devolution of any title, coat of arms, honour or dignity, and where the terms of any deed provide that any property or interest in property shall devolve along with a title, honour or dignity, nothing in this section shall prevent that property or interest from so devolving.

Application of certain presumptions in cases of illegitimacy

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• (1) Where in the construction of any deed either—

• (a) the principle known as conditio si institutus sine liberis decesserit (in accordance with which the issue of a deceased person may in certain circumstances become entitled to the rights under a deed to which the deceased person would have become entitled if he had not died), or

• (b) the principle of accretion (in accordance with which, if provision is made in any deed in favour of a number of persons jointly, the share in that provision of any one of those persons may in certain circumstances accresce on his death to the other person or persons in whose favour the provision was made),

would apply for the benefit of any person if it were not for the fact that that or any other person is or was illegitimate, then, unless the contrary intention appears, that principle shall nevertheless apply for the construction of the deed as if the illegitimate person were or had been born legitimate.

• (2) The application in relation to any testamentary writing of the principle known as conditio si testator sine liberis decesserit (in accordance with which a testamentary writing may in certain circumstances be held to be revoked by the birth of a child to the testator after the execution of the testamentary writing) shall not be excluded by reason only of the fact that any child born to the testator after the execution of the testamentary writing is or was illegitimate.

• (3) Subsection (2)(a) and subsections (3) to (5) of section 5 of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section.

Protection of trustees and executors

Protection of trustees and executors

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Part II — Application of Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 to Tenancies of Crofts

Application of Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 to tenancies of crofts

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The provisions of the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 shall—

• (a) apply to the tenancy of any croft within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955, and

• (b) have effect in relation to the succession to, and devolution of, any such tenancy,

as if the said Act of 1964 had come into operation at the commencement of this Act ; and accordingly, in relation to the estate of any person dying after such commencement—

Part III — Amendment of the Law of Evidence in Civil Proceedings

Restriction of rule of law requiring corroboration

Rule requiring corroboration not to apply in certain actions of damages

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Convictions, etc., as evidence in civil proceedings

Convictions as evidence in civil proceedings

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• (1) If any civil proceedings the fact that a person has been convicted of an offence by or before any court in the United Kingdom or of a service offence (anywhere) shall (subject to subsection (3) of this section) be admissable in evidence for the purpose of proving, where to do so is relevant to any issue in those proceedings, that he committed that offence, whether he was so convicted upon a plea of guilty or otherwise and whether or not he is a party to the civil proceedings ; but no conviction other than a subsisting one shall be admissable in evidence by virtue of this section.

• (2) In any civil proceedings in which by virtue of this section a person is proved to have been convicted of an offence by or before any court in the United Kingdom or of a service offence—

• (a) he shall be taken to have committed that offence unless the contrary is proved, and

• (b) without prejudice to the reception of any other admissable evidence for the purposes of identifying the facts which constituted that offence, the contents of any document which is admissable as evidence of the conviction, and the contents of the complaint, information, indictment or charge-sheet on which the person in question was convicted, shall be admissable in evidence for that purpose.

• (3) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of section 12 of this Act or any other enactment whereby a conviction or a finding of fact in any criminal proceedings is for the purposes of any other proceedings made conclusive evidence of any fact.

• (4) Where in any civil proceedings the contents of any document are admissable in evidence by virtue of subsection (2) of this section, a copy of that document, or of the material part thereof, purporting to be certified or otherwise authenticated by or on behalf of the court or authority having custody of that document, shall be admissable in evidence and shall be taken to be a true copy of that document or part unless the contrary is shown.

• (5) Nothing in any of the following enactments, that is to say—

• (a) section 14 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000(under which a conviction leading to probation or discharge is to be disregarded except as therein mentioned) ;

• (aa) section 187 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (which makes similar provision in respect of service convictions);

• (b) section 191 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (which makes similar provision in respect of convictions on indictment in Scotland) ;

• (c) section 8 of the Probation Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 (which corresponds to the said section 12) or any corresponding enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland for the time being in force,

shall, affect the operation of this section ; and for the purposes of this section any order made by a court of summary jurisdiction under section 383 of the said Act of 1975 shall be treated as a conviction.

• (6) In this section—

• “service offence” has the same meaning as in the Armed Forces Act 2006;

• “conviction” includes anything that under section 376(1) and (2) of that Act is to be treated as a conviction, and “convicted” is to be read accordingly.

Findings of adultery and paternity as evidence in civil proceedings

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• (1) In any civil proceedings—

• (a) the fact that a person has been found guilty of adultery in any matrimonial proceedings, . . .

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

shall (subject to subsection (3) of this section) be admissable in evidence for the purpose of proving, where to do so is relevant to any issue in those civil proceedings, that he committed the adultery to which the finding relates . . . , whether or not he offered any defence to the allegation of adultery . . . and whether or not he is a party to the civil proceedings ; but no finding other than a subsisting one shall be admissable in evidence by virtue of this section.

• (2) If any civil proceedings in which by virtue of this section a person is proved to have been found guilty of adultery as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section . . . —

• (a) he shall be taken to have committed the adultery to which the finding relates . . . , unless the contrary is proved ; and

• (b) without prejudice to the reception of any other admissable evidence for the purpose of identifying the facts on which the finding was based, the contents of any document which was before the court, or which contains any pronouncement of the court, in the matrimonial . . . proceedings in question shall be admissable in evidence for that purpose.

• (3) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of any enactment whereby a finding of fact in any matrimonial . . . proceedings is for the purposes of any other proceedings made conclusive evidence of any fact.

• (4) Nothing in this section shall entitle the Court of Session to pronounce a decree of divorce without receiving evidence from the pursuer.

• (5) Subsection (4) of section 10 of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this section as if the reference therein to subsection (2) were a reference to subsection (2) of this section.

• (6) In this section—

• (a) “matrimonial proceedings” means any consistorial action, any matrimonial cause in the High Court or a county court in England and Wales or in the High Court in Northern Ireland, or any appeal arising out of any such action or cause, and

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conclusiveness of convictions for purposes of defamation actions

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• (1) In an action for defamation in which the question whether the pursuer did or did not commit a criminal offence is relevant to an issue arising in the action, proof that, at the time when that issue falls to be determined, he stands convicted of that offence shall be conclusive evidence that he committed that offence ; and his conviction thereof shall be admissible in evidence accordingly.

• (2) In any such action as aforesaid in which by virtue of this section the pursuer is proved to have been convicted of an offence, the contents of any document which is admissable as evidence of the conviction, and the contents of the complaint, information, indictment or charge-sheet on which he was convicted, shall, without prejudice to the reception of any other admissable evidence for the purpose of identifying the facts which constituted that offence, be admissable in evidence for the purpose of identifying those facts.

• (2A) In the case of an action for defamation in which there is more than one pursuer—

• (a) the references in subsections (1) and (2) above to the pursuer shall be construed as references to any of the pursuers, and

• (b) proof that any of the pursuers stands convicted of an offence shall be conclusive evidence that he committed that offence so far as that fact is relevant to any issue arising in relation to his cause of action or that of any other pursuer.

• (3) For the purposes of this section a person shall be taken to stand convicted of an offence if but only if there subsists against him a conviction of that offence by or before a court in the United Kingdom or (in the case of a service offence) a conviction (anywhere) of that service offence.

• (4) Subsections (4) to (6) of section 10 of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section, but as if in the said section (4) the reference to subsection (2) were a reference to subsection (2) of this section.

• (5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply for the purposes of any action begun after the coming into operation of this section, whenever the cause of action arose, but shall not apply for the purposes of any action begun before such commencement or any appeal or other proceedings arising out of any such action.

Statements produced by computers as evidence in civil proceedings

Admissibility of statements produced by computers

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Provisions supplementary to s. 13

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• (1) Where in any civil proceedings a statement contained in a document is proposed to be given in evidence by virtue of section 13 of this Act it may be proved by the production of that document or (whether or not that document is still in existence) by the production of a copy of that document, or of the material part thereof, purporting to be certified or otherwise authenticated by a person responsible for the making of the copy or in such other manner as the court may approve; and any such copy shall be taken to be a true copy unless the contrary is shown.

• (2) In estimating the weight, if any, to be attached to a statement admissible in evidence by virtue of section 13 of this Act regard shall be had to all the circumstances from which any inference can reasonably be drawn as to the accuracy or otherwise of the statement and, in particular—

• (a) to the question whether or not the information which the information contained in the statement reproduces or is derived from was supplied to the relevant computer, or recorded for the purpose of being supplied thereto, contemporaneously with the occurrence or existence of the facts dealt with in that informtion, and

• (b) to the question whether or not any person concerned with—

• (i) the supply of information to that computer, or

• (ii) the operation of that computer, or

• (iii) the operation of any equipment by means of which the document containing the statement was produced by that computer,

had any incentive to conceal or misrepresent the facts.

Procedure for purposes of s. 13

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• (1) Subject to subsections (6) to (8) of this section, a statement shall not be admissible in evidence in civil proceedings by virtue of section 13 of this Act unless the procedure laid down by or under this section has been complied with.

• (2) A party to any civil proceedings who wishes to rely on any such statement as is mentioned in the said section 13 shall, within such time as may be prescribed, send to every other party to the proceedings a copy of the statement together with a notice in writing—

• (a) intimating that the party intends to rely on the statement ;

• (b) stating that the statement is contained in a document produced by a computer ;

• (c) directing the attention of the other party to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section enabling a counter-notice to be given.