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James Chalmers and Fiona Leverick, Gordon's Criminal Law, Volume II

Document Cited authorities 2 Cited in Related
Vincent
Author
DOI10.3366/elr.2018.0471
Pages168-169
Date01 January 2018
Published date01 January 2018

When Victor Tadros reviewed the third edition of Gordon's Criminal Law for this journal in 2003, he concluded by voicing his hopes that the next edition would not take another twenty-three years to materialise. It is pleasing to note that this hope has been realised, at least in respect of the second volume of this leading textbook on Scots criminal law, which deals with specific offences. At the time of writing, volume one, which encompasses matters pertaining to the general part of criminal law, remains under preparation. Though more timeous than its predecessor, this new edition still has fifteen years of legal change to contend with. It has therefore undergone significant revision by its authors Professors Chalmers and Leverick.

Of the chapters that retain their original format, those most extensively reworked include the chapters on embezzlement, road traffic offences and statutory personal injury offences (now two separate chapters), and offences in connection with officials (now re-named to reflect the existence of the Bribery Act 2010). Five chapters are dedicated to the major reform of sexual offences that was accomplished through the Sexual Offences Act 2009. Together, these chapters constitute an updated and amalgamated version of the supplement to the third edition of Gordon's Criminal Law produced by Chalmers in 2010. One of these chapters gives a brief overview of the common law of rape, even though the offence was abolished by the 2009 Act. The reason for this inclusion is that charges that pre-date the new legislation coming into force will be tried in accordance with the law that applied at the time of the alleged crime. The common law thus remains of considerable practical importance. The so-called “revenge porn” law, contained in the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016, which was passed but had not yet come into force by the time the text was prepared is...

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