What is Scotland's not proven verdict and what does it mean for justice system?
dailyrecord.co.ukScottish courts are to scrap the country's not proven verdict, after years of ongoing debate over the "controversial" ruling.Not proven is unique to Scots law and it exists in no other jurisdictions.
The change comes as part of a new Bill to reform Scotland's justice system, published on Wednesday.The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill will also change the size of criminal juries from 15 to 12 - and address issues around serious sexual offences by creating a new specialist sexual offences court.It will also ensure lifelong anonymity for complainers of rape and sexual crimes, which is not currently enshrined in Scots law.Debates around Scotland’s third verdict, which has the legal effect of acquitting the accused, have been going on for years.
But a lot of confusion surrounds the ruling - especially its legal meaning.In the Scottish criminal courts, three verdicts can be handed down to the accused - guilty, not guilty and not proven.If someone is found guilty, the jury are satisfied that enough evidence has been issued to prove the accused's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in a conviction.A not guilty verdict will mean a jury believed that not enough proof was given in court to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, acquitting the accused of all charges.
But when it comes to defining not proven, things get complicated.In fact, there is no set definition of what it means to be found not proven in a case, but there is a belief that it means that the accused is guilty, without enough evidence to convict.
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