# Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, Section 12: Initiation and conduct of investigation

Extent: S
Status: prospective

(1) Before taking any steps in the conduct of an investigation, the Commissioner must—
(a) draw up terms of reference for the investigation, and
(b) take such steps as appear to the Commissioner to be appropriate with a view to bringing notice of the investigation and terms of reference to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it.
(2) An investigation is to be conducted in public except to the extent that the Commissioner considers that the taking of evidence in private is necessary or appropriate.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2025/12/section/12 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/victims-witnesses-and-justice-reform-scotland-act-2025/section-12
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.