When Asked for the Record, None Was Found

A review response from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, issued on 17 April 2026, confirms under section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 that no recorded information exists of any project, proposal, or discussion concerning the addition of searchable fields for evidential doctrines such as Moorov. The review response can be read here. That position did not appear in the original reply. It only emerged after a review.

Earlier responses reported on this site established two points. First, that Scotland's criminal case management system does not record how the Moorov doctrine is used in any searchable way. Second, that no project had been undertaken in the last ten years to change that. Blind Spots in the System set out the recording gap. Still Blind. Still Silent. examined what followed when that gap was pushed further.

What those responses did not show was whether the issue had ever been examined internally. The remaining question was simple: is there any recorded evidence that this gap has even been considered?

That question was put formally in a review request submitted on 24 March 2026. The original FOI 2026-096 had declined to treat it as valid under section 8(1) of FOISA, on the basis that it sought confirmation rather than recorded information. It nevertheless provided an informal answer, stating that enquiries had been made and no such project or discussion had taken place.

The review reframed the request to focus strictly on recorded information: internal discussions, correspondence, project proposals, scoping documents, or any assessment relating to the potential addition of such fields.

The review response, dated 17 April 2026, upholds the original procedural position but goes on to address that revised request directly. Within that response, the revised request is handled under the reference FOI 2026-125, and a notice is issued under section 17 of FOISA confirming that the information is not held.

The distinction is small but important. The earlier response said no work had been identified through informal enquiry. The review response states that no recorded information exists. Searches were carried out.

Nothing was found, because nothing was created.

There is no document showing the gap was considered and set aside. No assessment of whether such functionality was needed. No correspondence indicating the issue was raised and then dropped. The absence is complete in the sense that matters under the statute.

A system that cannot record how one of its most consequential doctrines is used is already a known position. What this response adds is narrower, but more precise. It confirms that there is no recorded trace of that problem ever having been examined.

Further reading

• Blind Spots in the System — on how key mechanisms like Moorov and Section 275 are not recorded.
• Still Blind. Still Silent. — on the absence of any recorded attempt to address those gaps.