THE "not proven" verdict will be scrapped as of January 1, but what does that mean for legal cases in Scotland?
The change comes as part of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act, which was approved by the Scottish Parliament in September. Now, Justice Secretary Angela Constance has laid the regulations to bring the new law into effect from New Year’s Day.
The verdict was unique to Scottish courts and has long been a topic of discussion surrounding the legal system in Scotland.
What were the verdicts before?
Previously in Scotland, there were three verdicts: guilty, not guilty, and not proven. These meant:
Guilty: The accused committed the crime, proven beyond reasonable doubt, leading to conviction.
Not guilty: The evidence did not prove guilt, therefore the accused is acquitted.
Not proven: The Scottish verdict, meaning the prosecution didn’t prove the case and the evidence is not substantial for a conviction. The accused is also acquitted, but could be brought back to trial is more evidence came to light.
What does this change?
The legislation abolishes the not proven verdict in all criminal trials in Scotland and replaces it with the two-verdict system, of guilty and not guilty.
Alongside this, the bill raises the required majority for a criminal conviction from 8 jurors to 10, out of a 15 person jury.
The real impact will not be understood for several years.
What were some of the challenges of the 'not proven' verdict?
Critics of the verdict argued that it created confusion for juries, the public, and victims.
They also argued that there wasn’t a meaningful enough distinction from "not guilty".
According to research by the Scottish Government in 2022-23, “not proven” made up 61% of rape and attempted rape acquittals, compared to an overall rate of 22% across all criminal offences.
Campaigners have argued that this disproportionate use in sexual offence cases contributed to low confidence in the justice system among victims, often leaving survivors feeling disbelieved or denied closure.
What has the response been?
The campaign to remove the "not proven" verdict was supported by Rape Crisis Scotland and other victim advocacy organisations in Scotland.
Miss M, who worked alongside Rape Crisis Scotland, launched the “End Not Proven” campaign and has worked for the verdict to be abolished after her attacker was acquitted with a “not proven” verdict in 2015.
Rape Crisis Scotland chief executive Sandy Brindley said: “Miss M and countless other survivors have campaigned tirelessly to remove the not proven verdict.
“Their experiences represent the many people across Scotland who have been let down by not proven, a verdict that was impossible to define, confused jurors and the wider public, prevented closure for victims, and was ultimately no different than a verdict of not guilty.”
READ MORE: Two children saved in major rescue mission at Scottish beauty spot
A Scottish Jury Research study found that removing the not proven verdict might incline more jurors towards a guilty verdict in finely balanced cases.
However, The Law Society of Scotland warned of significant risks from criminal justice after MSPs voted to pass the bill.
Stuart Munro, convener of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee, said: “The fundamental purpose of any criminal justice system is to convict the guilty and acquit the innocent.
“We’re moving from a system with a proven track record of achieving that outcome to one which is entirely untested and does not exist in any equivalent legal system.
“Every legal system with a two-verdict system requires a unanimous or near unanimous jury to convict, whereas Scotland will now have a system where a person can be convicted despite five members of the jury having significant doubts about their guilt.”
Share