Part 6Criminal juries and verdicts

Research into juries

68Research into juries by or on behalf of the Scottish Ministers: duty to report

(1)

This section applies where the Scottish Ministers—

(a)

carry out or commission the carrying out of research in accordance with leave granted under section 8A(1) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, and

(b)

for the purposes of that research, particulars of—

(i)

statements made,

(ii)

opinions expressed,

(iii)

arguments advanced, or

(iv)

votes cast,

by members of a jury in the course of their deliberations in solemn proceedings are solicited, obtained, disclosed or published.

(2)

The Scottish Ministers must, as soon as reasonably practicable after the research is carried out—

(a)

publish a report on the research,

(b)

lay a copy of the report before the Parliament,

(c)

publish their response to the report (including their recommendations, if any), and

(d)

lay a copy of the response before the Parliament.

(3)

In this section, references to the Scottish Ministers carrying out or commissioning the carrying out of research include research carried out by them jointly or on their behalf.