Complaint

A complaint is the court document setting out the charges against the accused in a summary (less serious) criminal case.

In Scottish criminal procedure, a complaint is the document the Procurator Fiscal uses to bring charges in a summary case. It names the accused and sets out each charge, including when and where the offence is said to have happened. A complaint is heard in the justice of the peace court or by a sheriff or summary sheriff without a jury. If you are not kept in custody, you will usually receive a copy of the complaint with a citation telling you when to go to court or how to respond. More serious cases are brought on a petition and then an indictment instead. Note that COPFS also uses complaint in its everyday sense, meaning a report of a crime made to the police.

Checked as at 25 September 2026. General information only, not legal advice.