Section 27 Interpretation of Part I.I1C1

In this Part of this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

• “court” does not include a court-martial;

• F1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “life prisoner” means a person serving a sentence of imprisonment for life F2or in respect of whom there has been made an order for lifelong restriction;

• “local authority” means a F3council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

• F4“local probation board” means a local probation board established under section 4 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000;

• “long-term prisoner” means a person serving a sentence of imprisonment for a term of four years or more;

• F5“order for lifelong restriction” means an order under section 210F(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c. 46);

• “Parole Board” means the Parole Board for Scotland;

• F6“local justice area” has the same meaning as in the Courts Act 2003 (c. 39);

• F7“previous conviction” means—

  1. (a)

     a previous conviction by a court in any part of the United Kingdom, or

  2. (b)

     if the court considers appropriate, a previous conviction by a court in any member State of the European Union;

• “relevant officer”, in relation to a local authority, means an officer of that authority employed by them in the discharge of their functions under section 27(1) of the M1Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (supervision and care of persons put on probation or released from prison etc.);

• F8“risk management plan” shall be construed in accordance with section 6(1) of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 7);

• “short-term prisoner” means a person serving a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than four years;

• “supervised release order” has the meaning given by F9section 209 F10. . . of the F111995 Act but includes any order under subsection (2) of the said section 14; and

• “supervising officer” has the meaning given by the said section 209.

The Secretary of State may by order provide—

An order under subsection (2) above may make such transitional provisions as appear to the Secretary of State necessary or expedient in connection with any provision made by the order.

For the purposes of this Part of this Act so far as relating to licences or persons released on licence, the age of any person at the time when sentence was passed on him shall be deemed to have been that which appears to the Secretary of State to have been his age at that time.

For the purposes of this Part of this Act, a term of imprisonment or detention—

For the purposes of any reference, however expressed, in this Part of this Act to the term of imprisonment or other detention to which a person has been sentenced or which, or any part of which, he has served, consecutive terms and terms which are wholly or partly concurrent shall F16, subject to F17subsections (5A) and (5AA), be treated as a single term if—

Subsection (5) does not apply in relation to a sentence passed on a person—

Nor does subsection (5) apply in relation to a sentence (a “national security-related sentence”) imposed on a person under section 205ZC of the 1995 Act in respect of an offence listed in Part 2 of Schedule 5ZB to that Act (offences involving or connected with a threat to national security).

In determining, for the purposes of subsection (5), whether a sentence passed on a person in respect of an offence (other than F20a sentence passed on a person in respect of an offence within section 1AB(2) or a national security-related sentence) is to be treated as part of a single term, any sentence passed on the person in respect of an offence within section 1AB(2) F21or a national security-related sentence is to be ignored.

If additional days are awarded in accordance with rules made under section 39(7) of the 1989 Act (and are not remitted in accordance with such rules), the period which the prisoner (or eventual prisoner) must serve before becoming entitled to or eligible for release shall be extended by those additional days.

Where (but for this subsection) a prisoner would, under any provision of this Act or of the 1995 Act, fall to be released on or by a day which is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday he shall instead be released on or by the last preceding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

For the purposes of this section “public holiday” means any day on which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, public offices or other facilities likely to be of use to the prisoner in the area in which he is likely to be following his discharge from prison will be closed.