Stage 1 Scrutiny by the Justice Committee
Background
The Criminal Verdicts (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Parliament by Michael McMahon MSP on 27 November 2013.
The Policy Memorandum states that the purpose of the Bill is to make provision for the removal of the not proven verdict as one of the available verdicts in criminal proceedings; and for a guilty verdict to require an increased majority of jurors.
The Committee agreed to postpone Stage 1 scrutiny of the Bill until the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill had passed Stage 3 proceedings, due to the overlap between the two Bills.
Evidence
The Committee issued a call for written evidence on 24 November 2015. The closing date for submissions was 5pm on 5 January 2016.
Report
The Committee published its Stage 1 report to the Parliament on 9 February 2016.
Debate
Consideration of the Bill at Stage 1 concluded with the debate in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament on 25 February 2016.
Additional Information
Correspondence