Commentary on Sections Juries and members of the Court Martial Section 72: Sharing research with other jurors
542.Section 72 inserts a new section 20B into the Juries Act 1974. This makes it an offence for a juror to pass on to another juror information obtained through research in contravention of new section 20A of the Juries Act 1974 where the information was not provided by the court.
543.Subsections (3) and (4) of new section 20B set out the penalty for an offence under this section (imprisonment for up to 2 years or a fine or both) and provide that the consent of the Attorney General is required to institute proceedings for such an offence.
544.Paragraph 5 of Schedule 13 (introduced by section 75) replicates the offence for members of the jury during an inquest by inserting new paragraph 5B into Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.