Country Justice

The controversial not proven verdict is to be scrapped in Scottish courts as part of sweeping reforms to the country's justice system.

Not proven is one of three verdicts that can be returned in Scotland, alongside guilty and Not Guilty .

The implications of a case being found not proven are exactly the same as Not Guilty and The Accused is innocent in The Eyes of The Law .

But there has been concern that it can be confusing for juries and The Public .

Critics of The Verdict also say it can stigmatise an accused person by appearing not to clear them and that it can fail to provide closure for victims.

However some legal experts believe it can offer additional protection to an accused person by helping to ensure that they will not be convicted if The Jury has any doubts.

And the Law Society of Scotland has warned there could be an increase in miscarriages of justice if not proven is scrapped.

Not proven is unique to Scots law, with other legal systems only having two possible verdicts rather than three, and discussions about whether or not to keep it have been going on for years.

The Verdict can trace its roots back to the 17Th Century , but despite being available in all criminal cases there is no definition of the not proven verdict, or the difference between it and a Not Guilty verdict.

A study found removing the not proven verdict might incline more jurors towards a guilty verdict in finely balanced trials.

It also highlighted inconsistent views on the meaning of not proven and how it differed from Not Guilty .

The General perception among The Public is often that a " not proven" verdict suggests a sheriff or jury believes The Accused is guilty, but does not have sufficient evidence to convict.

The Proposal to abolish The Verdict is contained in a new bill published by the Scottish Government which would see The Most radical shakeup of the country's justice system in decades if it is passed.

The measures include reducing The Number people who sit on a jury from 15 to 12.

At least eight of the 12 jurors will need to agree that The Accused is guilty for them to be convicted rather than the current simple majority of eight out of 15.

A new specialist sexual offences court will be created and a pilot project will see rape and attempted rape cases being held without a jury, with a single judge deciding whether or not The Accused is guilty.

The Move is aimed at increasing the country's low conviction rate for serious sexual offences.

Only about half of rape and attempted rape trials result in a conviction. The overall conviction rate in trials is about 90%.

There were 2,176 rapes and attempted rapes reported to The Police in 2020/21, but only 152 prosecutions and just 78 convictions.

Source of news: bbc.com