Overview

• The Scottish government withdrew plans for judge-only rape trials following intense criticism from the legal community and human rights concerns.
• Justice Secretary Angela Constance cited insufficient cross-party support as the reason for not proceeding with the pilot scheme, initially planned for 2028.
• Legal bodies argued that the proposal threatened the fundamental right to a fair trial and could lead to wrongful convictions.
• The initiative aimed to address low conviction rates in rape cases, attributed to jurors being influenced by 'rape myths'.
• Despite dropping the pilot, the government will continue with other reforms, including abolishing the 'not proven' verdict and researching jury decision-making.