McArthur comments on Justice Reform Bill

Commenting on the publication of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would scrap the not proven verdict, reduce the number of jurors from 15 to 12 and introduce lifelong anonymity for victims of a sexual offence, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:  

“For some time now, our party has been calling for reform which strikes a balance between the rights of the accused and the needs of victims. I am pleased to see the government now taking action in this area.  

“Not proven has been problematic in a modern legal context, not least because there is no fixed definition of this verdict. By appearing not to clear an accused person of charges, it stigmatises defendants, fails to provide closure for victims and creates confusion for the wider public.  

“While these reforms are important, they come against a backdrop of cuts to justice budgets by this SNP-Green administration, which threaten to hamstring investigations and prosecutions.  

“The Scottish government must now properly invest in our justice system so that we can deal with court backlogs, cut crime and boost public confidence.”