It results in each person involved in the crime being equally liable for the full offence, regardless of their individual contribution to it.
[1] Under section 293(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995,[2] a person may be convicted of, and punished for, a contravention of any enactment, notwithstanding that he was guilty of such contravention as art and part only.
Subsection (2) says: (2) Without prejudice to subsection (1) above or to any express provision in any enactment having the like effect to this subsection, any person who aids, abets, counsels, procures or incites any other person to commit an offence against the provisions of any enactment shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction, unless the enactment otherwise requires, to the same punishment as might be imposed on conviction of the first-mentioned offence.The accused must have made some kind of contribution or participated in some way to the crime to be liable for the full offence.
Contribution can come in the form of psychological assistance, by giving advice or instigating the commission of the crime, or physical assistance, such as driving a getaway vehicle during a robbery.
[5] However, an accused will not be liable for any actions by a co-accused which go unforeseeably beyond the scope of the common purpose.