Question reference: S6W-09636
- 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 will provide the precise remit of the reported working group established to examine the delivery of a pilot scheme for juryless trials, and when any such working group will report.
Answer
A number of Working Groups have been set up to support and inform the Lady Dorrian Review Governance Group on specific areas or aspects of the recommendations, share accountability and ownership of action, and encourage stakeholders and organisations to work together.
In the context of broader terms of reference to support the Governance Group, the Single Judge Trial Pilot Working Group has been set up specifically to:
- Identify the key areas for development in order to make recommendations to the Governance Group on how to progress the consideration of a pilot. This may include aspects of feasibility and potential challenges (legal and other) of a pilot;
- Identify what other information, research, evidence may be needed to assist the consideration of the issues arising from the recommendation and any pilot;
- Consider how the progress, consideration and evaluation planned in relation to recommendation 5 and ‘steps to enhancing the quality of jury involvement’ might impact on the scope of any planned pilot.
- Identify policy and operational development required to further the consideration of a pilot and key opportunities/challenges to building consensus given the division of the Review Group;
- Consider what might be included within a public consultation document to gather views on the recommendation;
- Look at any other issues relevant to its considerations;
- Consider the implications of progressing of this recommendation in light of the work on the other recommendations within the Report, bearing in mind the independence of certain recommendations identified in the Report.
The Working Group is expected to report its findings to the Lady Dorrian Review Governance Group in Autumn 2022.