{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-procedure-scotland-act-1995/section-271HB",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-procedure-scotland-act-1995/section-271HB.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1995/46",
  "legislation_title": "Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-procedure-scotland-act-1995",
  "path": "section/271HB",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "271HB",
  "heading": "Excluding the public while taking evidence",
  "text": "(1) This section applies where the special measure to be used in respect of a vulnerable witness is excluding the public during the taking of the evidence of the vulnerable witness.\n(2) The court may direct that all or any persons other than those mentioned in subsection (3) are excluded from the court during the taking of the evidence.\n(3) The persons are—\n(a) members or officers of the court,\n(b) parties to the case before the court, their counsel or solicitors or persons otherwise directly concerned in the case,\n(c) bona fide representatives of news gathering or reporting organisations present for the purpose of the preparation of contemporaneous reports of the proceedings,\n(d) such other persons as the court may specially authorise to be present.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 271HB inserted (1.9.2015) by Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 1), ss. 20(2), 34; S.S.I. 2015/200, art. 2(2), sch. (with arts. 1(3), 4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Ss. 271-271M applied (with modifications) (23.12.2015) by The Justice of the Peace Courts (Special Measures) (Scotland) Order 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/447), arts. 1(2), 3 (with art. 1(3))"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/46/section/271HB",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-05T03:43:46.035735+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}