Legal Definitions - dittay

In Scots law, the term dittay refers to two closely related concepts:

• First, it signifies the grounds or underlying evidence and reasons that justify bringing formal criminal charges against an individual.
• Second, it refers to the formal legal document itself, similar to an indictment in other legal systems, which officially states the specific criminal charges.

Here are some examples to illustrate the use of "dittay":

• Example 1 (Grounds for an indictment):

  Following a detailed police investigation into a series of financial irregularities at a Scottish charity, officers compile a comprehensive report. This report includes forensic accounting audits, witness statements from former employees, and digital evidence from company servers, all pointing towards potential embezzlement by a senior manager. This collection of compelling evidence is then presented to the Procurator Fiscal (Scotland's public prosecutor).

  In this scenario, the entire body of evidence and the legal reasoning supporting the potential prosecution constitutes the dittay as the grounds for an indictment. It is the factual and legal basis upon which a decision to prosecute would be made.

• Example 2 (An indictment):

  After reviewing the extensive evidence from the charity fraud case, the Procurator Fiscal determines there is sufficient proof to proceed with a prosecution against the senior manager. They then draft and issue a formal legal document that precisely lists the charges, such as "fraudulent misrepresentation" and "theft by appropriation," specifying the amounts involved and the dates of the alleged offenses. This document is then served on the accused and presented to the court.

  This formal legal document, which officially lays out the specific criminal charges against the individual, is the dittay in the sense of an indictment itself. It serves as the official statement of the prosecution's case in court.