Question reference: S6W-09634
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 6 July 2022
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 19 July 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering or has any plans to introduce legislation in relation to the reported pilot scheme for, or establishment of, juryless trials.
Answer
The review, Improving the Management of Sexual Offence Cases , led by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, developed proposals for an improved system to deal with serious sexual offence cases, including recommending consideration of a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials. We have committed to give careful consideration to all of the Review’s recommendations.
We have established a Governance Group to further explore the recommendations on an individual and collective basis. The Group established a short-life working group to consider the specific issues involved in any potential pilot of single judge rape trials. In addition, we launched a consultation on 12 May to gather wider views on the recommendation and other proposals to improve victims’ experiences of the justice system. Decisions on whether to proceed with legislation to implement a pilot will be informed by the outcomes of the working group and the consultation.