The revised document will go to Jim Wallace

A conference will be held in Edinburgh on Monday to allow leading figures within the criminal justice system to voice their views on the proposals.

The draft document has been produced by law Professors Eric Clive and Sandy McCall Smith from Edinburgh University, Christopher Gane from Aberdeen University and Pamela Ferguson from Dundee University.

Professor Clive will tell the conference that it is still possible for a person to be charged without being told the name of the alleged offence or the law which created the offence.

The law for many crimes is contained within old books and court decisions which are not readily accessible to the public - and often difficult to interpret or contradictory, he will say.

Basic crimes

One of the books still relied on by the courts was first published shortly after the French Revolution and was last updated in the mid-19th Century.

He will say Scotland is unusual because many basic crimes - including murder, rape, theft and assault - depend on judges' statements rather than parliamentary decisions.

Professor Gane will argue that the new code would bring male rape within the category of rape, and would also introduce an offence of stalking.

Theft has the same maximum sentence as murder

It would also mean that an unreasonable belief that the victim had consented to sex would no longer be a defence to a rape charge.

Professor Ferguson will say that the current breach of the peace charge is ill-defined.

This means that any behaviour which annoys, alarms or even embarrasses other people can lead to prosecution.

The new code would narrow the definition while providing specific charges of harassment and stalking.

Professor Smith will tell how the draft code would rationalise the maximum penalties for different offences.

Next step

The existing law has been criticised because no attempt has been made to grade the maximum penalties, which are the same for breach of the peace as they are for rape, and the same for theft as they are for murder.

Those attending the conference will include sheriffs and Crown Office representatives, the Law Society of Scotland, police, victim's groups and the justice department.

Organisers say that the next step will depend on the outcome of the conference.

But their intention is to revise and improve the code in light of the comments made on Monday and submit it to Justice Minister Jim Wallace for his consideration.