197.Currently, the default size of juries in criminal trials (15 jurors) is provided for under the common law. Where, during the trial, a juror dies or is discharged by the court for any reason (such as illness), section 90(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 governs what happens and provides that the case can proceed before the jury provided at least 12 jurors remain.
198.This section will substitute a new section for section 90 of the 1995 Act. The new version of section 90 will provide that, where a juror dies or is discharged by the court for any reason, the case can proceed before the jury provided at least 12 jurors remain. In a change from the current position under section 90(1), the ability of the trial to proceed does not depend on an application being made by the prosecution or the accused. Instead, the court can itself determine that the trial can proceed provided, having given the prosecution and the accused an opportunity to make representations, the court is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice.
Crown Application Solemn proceedings Section 62 – jury size and quorum