MSP’s report shows juryless rape trials plan divisive and flawed

A parliamentary report shows the Scottish Government’s plans for juryless rapes trials are divisive and flawed, according to the Law Society of Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee published its 197-page Stage 1 report on the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill on Good Friday, 29 March 2024.

Support for a pilot of juryless rape trials was equally split among committee members, with four SNP members in favour while two Conservative and two Labour members believe it should not proceed.

Committee members were similarly split on the planned establishment of a new sexual offences court, with MSPs against preferring the creation of specialist divisions of the High Court and Sheriff Court.

The committee has given its support for the planned abolition of Scotland’s unique “not proven” verdict, but not related changes intended to offset the impact by cutting jury sizes and changing the majority required to secure a conviction.

Law Society of Scotland President Sheila Webster said: “We thank the members of the committee for their diligence in publishing this detailed report, which further underlines our concerns about key elements of this Bill.

“The proposal to introduce juryless trials for rape cases has been the most controversial part of this Bill, and it has proven to be equally divisive for committee members. The lack of consensus confirms this plan is flawed, and is lacking detail and supporting evidence. It should be removed from the Bill.

“We do hold some significant concerns about the report’s section dealing with the ‘not proven’ verdict. It appears that committee members support scrapping the third verdict despite acknowledging they don’t know what the impact of that decision will be.

“Scrapping ‘not proven’ without any balancing provisions would be an entirely unacceptable outcome with unforeseeable outcomes. If there is insufficient evidence to decide on jury size and verdict majority, then ‘not proven’ must be retained.

“We remain supportive of significant parts of the Bill including around the anonymity of complainers in sexual offence cases, the establishment of a new Commissioner, and a focus on trauma informed practice.”