What Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission does

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is an independent, non-ministerial public body established by an Act of Parliament in April 1999 to review potential miscarriages of justice in criminal cases in Scotland. Operating under sections 194A-T of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, the Commission can refer cases to the High Court of Justiciary when it believes a miscarriage of justice may have occurred and that referral is in the interests of justice. It serves individuals who have already exhausted normal court appeal processes and believe they were wrongly convicted or sentenced. Since inception the Commission has received 3,477 applications, referred 162 cases to the High Court, and seen 96 of 146 determined cases succeed (66% success rate).

The Commission's core product is a four-stage Case Review Service (Pre-Acceptance, Full Review, Decision, File Closing), accessed via a multi-step online application form and a printable PDF form for postal submission, with a new supplementary form for Section 274/275 cases arising from the 2025 Daly & Keir Supreme Court ruling. Supporting products include a Publications Library, quarterly Case Statistics Reports, Position Papers on legal grounds for review, and accessibility services covering 11 languages via Happy to Translate plus alternative formats such as large print, easy read, audio and braille. Technology stack is standard public-sector infrastructure: a WordPress-based website (built with Infinite Eye), online forms, Egress secure email, and internal case management systems. The Commission is governed by a Board of 8 Members including the Chairperson, supported by a Chief Executive, Director of Corporate Services, two Senior Legal Officers, five Legal Officers, a Consultant Legal Adviser (KC), and approximately 20 staff in total.

The business model is entirely publicly funded: the Commission receives grant funding from the Scottish Government's Justice Directorate, is accountable to the Scottish Parliament, charges no fees to applicants, and operates free of charge within Scotland only (with jurisdiction explicitly excluding England, Wales, and Northern Ireland). There is no commercial revenue stream, no user pricing model, and no private ownership structure.

Name

Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

Legal name

Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

Website

https://sccrc.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent public body established by Act of Parliament in 1999 that reviews potential miscarriages of justice in Scottish criminal cases and can refer them to the High Court for fresh appeal. It is government-funded and serves individuals who have exhausted normal appeal processes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Criminal Justice Review Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Civil Investigations (Witness/Asset/Skip Tracing) (BPAKAEAE)

Keywords

• Criminal case review
• Miscarriage of justice
• Public legal body
• Statutory case referral
• Legal review services

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Commission is funded by the Scottish Government's Justice Directorate and is accountable to the Scottish Parliament for public funds. This is a public service with no commercial revenue model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The SCCRC reviews potential miscarriages of justice in Scottish criminal convictions and sentences and, where it believes a miscarriage may have occurred and it is in the interests of justice, refers cases to the High Court of Justiciary for a fresh appeal. Applications are submitted via online or PDF forms, processed through a structured four-stage review (Pre-Acceptance, Full Review, Decision, File Closing) by Legal Officers and the Board. All services are provided free of charge to individual applicants.

Product overview

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission operates as a single unified public service for reviewing potential miscarriages of justice in Scottish criminal cases. The core offering is the Case Review Service, which follows a structured four-stage process: Stage 1 Pre-Acceptance review, Stage 2 Full Review by Board Members, Stage 3 Decision procedure, and Stage 4 File Closing. Service access is provided through an Online Application Form (multi-step web form) and a Printable PDF Application Form for postal submissions. Specialized supplementary forms address specific case categories such as Section 274/275 applications following the Daly & Keir Supreme Court ruling. The Commission provides supporting resources including a Publications Library (annual reports, policies, position papers), Case Statistics Reports, and Position Papers documenting legal review criteria. Accessibility services include Translation and Interpretation (available in 11 languages) and Alternative Format accommodations (accessible PDFs, large print, easy read, audio, braille).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Case Review Service
• Online Application Form
• Printable PDF Application Form
• Supplementary Information Form (Section 274/275 Cases)
• Case Statistics Reports
• Translation and Interpretation Services
• Accessibility Accommodation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 162 cases referred to High Court since 1999
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Happy to TranslatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Commission is a member of Happy to Translate, providing language support and interpretation services for applicants whose first language is not English. Upon request, they can provide language support through the application process in multiple languages including Albanian, Arabic, Gaelic, Kurdish, Mandarin, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Parole Board for Scotland: Independent Scottish public body that reviews parole cases. A structural peer as another non-ministerial Scottish justice body operating under statutory authority and accountable to the Scottish Parliament.
• Scottish Legal Aid Board: Scottish public body that administers legal aid funding; comparable to SCCRC as a publicly funded Scottish justice-sector organisation serving individuals navigating the criminal justice system.
• Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland: Another independent Scottish public body sponsored by the Scottish Government. Comparable institutional form (non-ministerial office, Board governance, statutory remit within justice system).

Broad incumbents

• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service: Scotland's sole prosecution service and a key counterpart to SCCRC within the Scottish criminal justice system. Cases that reach SCCRC have typically been processed through the Crown Office, making it a closely related institutional peer.
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service: Operates the Scottish court system including the High Court of Justiciary, which is the destination court for SCCRC referrals. Strongly intertwined operationally with SCCRC's case review pipeline.

Emerging players

• Innocence Project: US-based nonprofit that investigates potential wrongful convictions, operating in a similar mission space to SCCRC but using a litigation-advocacy model rather than a statutory referral model.
• Victim Support Scotland: Scottish charity supporting victims of crime; comparable as a Scotland-focused public-interest body within the criminal justice sector, though serving a different stakeholder group.

Direct peers

• Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC): The CCRC is the statutory body for reviewing alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, performing the exact same function as SCCRC for the rest of the UK. It is the most direct structural and operational peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission