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9B. Discharge of summonses to disabled persons only if incapable of acting effectively as a juror
10. Discharge of summonses in case of doubt as to capacity to act effectively as a juror
16. Continuation of criminal trial on death or discharge of juror
Ineligibility and Disqualification for and Excusal from Jury Service
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to juries, jurors and jury service with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949.
[9th July 1974]
C1Act amended by S.I. 1986/1081, regs. 2, 51(6)
C2By Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53, SIF 39:1), s. 101(1), Sch. 12 para. 23; S.I. 1991/2208, art. 2(1), Sch.1 it is provided (14.10.1991) that in relation to any time before the commencement of s.70 of that 1991 Act (which came into force on 1.10.1992 by S.I. 1992/333, art. 2(2), Sch. 2) references in any enactment amended by that 1991 Act, to youth courts shall be construed as references to juvenile courts.
I1Act wholly in force at 9. 8. 1974 see s. 23(3)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, every person shall be qualified to serve as a juror in the Crown Court, the High Court and county courts and be liable accordingly to attend for jury service when summoned under this Act, if—
(a)he is for the time being registered as a parliamentary or local government elector and is not less than eighteen nor more than [F1seventy] years of age; and
(b)he has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for any period of at least five years since attaining the age of thirteen,
but not if he is for the time being ineligible or disqualified for jury service; and the persons who are ineligible, and those who are disqualified, are those respectively listed in Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to this Act.
F1Word substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 119(1), 123(6), Sch. 8 para. 16
C1S. 1: reference to a parliamentary or local government elector to be construed as mentioned in Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2, SIF 42), ss. 205, 206, Sch. 7 para. 10
(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Lord Chancellor shall be responsible for the summoning of jurors to attend for service in the Crown Court, the High Court and county courts and for determining the occasions on which they are to attend when so summoned, and the number to be summoned.
(2)In making arrangements to discharge his duty under subsection (1) above the Lord Chancellor shall have regard to the convenience of the persons summoned and to their respective places of residence, and in particular to the desirability of selecting jurors within reasonable daily travelling distance of the place where they are to attend.
(3)Subject to subsection (2) above, there shall be no restriction on the places in England and Wales at which a person may be required to attend or serve on a jury under this Act.
(4)Subject to the provisions of this Act, jurors shall be so summoned by notice in writing sent by post, or delivered by hand.
For the purposes of [F1section 7 of the Interpretation Act M11978] (presumption as to receipt of letter properly addressed and sent by post) the notice shall be regarded as properly addressed if the address is that shown in the electoral register, and a notice so addressed, and delivered by hand to that address, shall be deemed to have been delivered personally to the person to whom it is addressed unless the contrary is proved.
(5)A written summons sent or delivered to any person under subsection (4) above shall be accompanied by a notice informing him—
(a)of the effect of sections 1, 9(1), 10 and 20(5) of this Act; and
(b)that he may make representations to the appropriate officer with a view to obtaining the withdrawal of the summons, if for any reason he is not qualified for jury service, or wishes or is entitled to be excused;
and where a person [F2is summoned under subsection (4) above or] under section 6 of this Act, the appropriate officer may [F3at any time] put or cause to be put to him such questions as the officer thinks fit in order to establish whether or not the person is qualified for jury service.
(6)A certificate signed by the appropriate officer and stating that a written summons under this Act, properly addressed and prepaid, was posted by him shall be admissible as evidence in any proceedings, and shall be so admissible without proof of his signature or official character.
F1Words substituted by virtue of Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30), s. 17(2)
F2Words substituted by Administration of Justice Act 1982 (c. 53, SIF 37), s. 61(a)
F3Words inserted by Administration of Justice Act 1982 (c. 53, SIF 37), s. 61(b)
C1S. 2: reference to the register of parliamentary and local government electors to be construed as mentioned in Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2, SIF 42), ss. 205, 206, Sch. 7 para. 10
C2S. 2 modified (31.8.1999) by S.I. 1999/2128, art. 3(2).
M11978 c. 30.
(1)Every electoral registration officer under the [F1Representation of the People Act 1983] shall as soon as practicable after the publication of any register of electors for his area deliver to such officer as the Lord Chancellor may designate such number of copies of the register as the designated officer may require for the purpose of summoning jurors, and on each copy there shall be indicated those persons on the register whom the registration officer has ascertained to be, or to have been on a date also indicated on the copy, less than eighteen or more than [F2seventy] years of age.
(2)The reference in subsection (1) above to a register of electors does not include a ward list within the meaning of section 4(1) of the City of London (Various Powers) Act M11957.
(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3
F1Words substituted by Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2, SIF 42), s. 206, Sch. 8 para. 17
F2Word substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 123(6), 170(1), Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 15 para. 44
F3S. 3(3) repealed by Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2, SIF 42), s. 206, Sch. 9 Pt. II
C1S. 3(1): references to the register of parliamentary and local government electors in each place where occurring to be construed as mentioned in Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2, SIF 42), ss 205, 206, Sch. 7 para. 10
C2S. 3(2): reference to the register of parliamentary and local government electors to be construed as mentioned in Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2, SIF 42), ss. 205, 206, Sch. 7 para. 10
M11957 c. x.
If it appears to the appropriate officer, at any time before the day on which any person summoned under section 2 of this Act is first to attend, that his attendance is unnecessary, or can be dispensed with on any particular day or days, the appropriate officer may withdraw or alter the summons by notice served in the same way as a notice of summons.
(1)The arrangements to be made by the Lord Chancellor under this Act shall include the preparation of lists (called panels) of persons summoned as jurors, and the information to be included in panels, the court sittings for which they are prepared, their division into parts or sets (whether according to the day of first attendance or otherwise), their enlargement or amendment, and all other matters relating to the contents and form of the panels shall be such as the Lord Chancellor may from time to time direct.
(2)A party to proceedings in which jurors are or may be called on to try an issue, and any person acting on behalf of a party to such proceedings, shall be entitled to reasonable facilities for inspecting the panel from which the jurors are or will be drawn.
(3)The right conferred by subsection (2) above shall not be exercisable after the close of the trial by jury (or after the time when it is no longer possible for there to be a trial by jury).
(4)The court may, if it thinks fit, at any time afford to any person facilities for inspecting the panel, although not given the right by subsection (2) above.
(1)If it appears to the court that a jury to try any issue before the court will be, or probably will be, incomplete, the court may, if the court thinks fit, require any persons who are in, or in the vicinity of, the court, to be summoned (without any written notice) for jury service up to the number needed (after allowing for any who may not be qualified under section 1 of this Act, and for [F1excusals] and challenges) to make up a full jury.
(2)The names of the persons so summoned shall be added to the panel and the court shall proceed as if those so summoned had been included in the panel in the first instance.
F1Word substituted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 123(6), 170(1), Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 15 para. 45
Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person summoned under this Act shall attend for so many days as may be directed by the summons or by the appropriate officer, and shall be liable to serve on any jury (in the Crown Court or the High Court or any county court) at the place to which he is summoned, or in the vicinity.
(1)If a person summoned under this Act shows to the satisfaction of the appropriate officer, or of the court (or any of the courts) to which he is summoned—
(a)that he has served on a jury, or duly attended to serve on a jury, in the prescribed period ending with the service of the summons on him, or
(b)that the Crown Court or any other court has excused him from jury service for a period which has not terminated,
the officer or court shall excuse him from attending, or further attending, in pursuance of the summons.
(2)In subsection (1) above “the prescribed period” means two years or such longer period as the Lord Chancellor may prescribe by order made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, and any such order may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order under this subsection.
(3)Records of persons summoned under this Act, and of persons included in panels, shall be kept in such manner as the Lord Chancellor may direct, and the Lord Chancellor may, if he thinks fit, make arrangements for allowing inspection of the records so kept by members of the public in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as he may prescribe.
(4)A person duly attending in compliance with a summons under this Act shall be entitled on application to the appropriate officer to a certificate recording that he has so attended.
(5)In subsection (1) above the words “served on a jury” refer to service on a jury in any court, including any court of assize or other court abolished by the Courts Act M11971, but excluding service on a jury in a coroner’s court.
(1)A person summoned under this Act shall be entitled, if he so wishes, to be excused from jury service if he is among the persons listed in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act but, except as provided by that Part of that Schedule in the case of members of the forces . . . F1, a person shall not by this section be exempt from his obligation to attend if summoned unless he is excused from attending under subsection (2) below.
(2)If any person summoned under this Act shows to the satisfaction of the appropriate officer that there is good reason why he should be excused from attending in pursuance of the summons, the appropriate officer may excuse him from so attending and shall do so if the reason shown is that the person is entitled under subsection (1) above to excusal.
(3)Crown Court rules shall provide a right of appeal to the court (or one of the courts) before which the person is summoned to attend against any refusal of the appropriate officer to excuse him under subsection (2) above.
(4)Without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this section, the court (or any of the courts) before which a person is summoned to attend under this Act may excuse that person from so attending;
F1Words repealed (with saving) by Armed Forces Act 1981 (c. 55, SIF 7:1), s. 28(2), Sch. 5 Pt. I note
C1S. 9(1) amended by Armed Forces Act 1981 (c. 55, SIF 7:1), s. 20(1), Sch. 3 para. 1
(1)If any person summoned under this Act shows to the satisfaction of the appropriate officer that there is good reason why his attendance in pursuance of the summons should be deferred, the appropriate officer may defer his attendance, and, if he does so, he shall vary the days on which that person is summoned to attend and the summons shall have effect accordingly.
(2)If an application under subsection (1) above has been granted or refused, the powers conferred by that subsection may not be exercised subsequently in relation to the same summons.
(3)Crown Court Rules shall provide a right of appeal to the court (or one of the courts) before which the person is summoned to attend against any refusal of the appropriate officer to defer his attendance under subsection (1) above.
(4)Without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this section, the court (or any of the courts) before which a person is summoned to attend under this Act may defer his attendance.]
F1S. 9A inserted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 120, 123(6), Sch. 8 para. 16
(1)Where it appears to the appropriate officer, in the case of a person attending in pursuance of a summons under this Act, that on account of physical disability there is doubt as to his capacity to act effectively as a juror, the person may be brought before the judge.
(2)The judge shall determine whether or not the person should act as a juror; but he shall affirm the summons unless he is of the opinion that the person will not, on account of his disability, be capable of acting effectively as a juror, in which case he shall discharge the summons.
(3)In this section “the judge” means any judge of the High Court or any Circuit judge or Recorder.]
F1S. 9B added (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 41; S.I. 1995/127, art. 2(1), Sch. 1
Where it appears to the appropriate officer, in the case of a person attending in pursuance of a summons under this Act, that on account of F1. . . insufficient understanding of English there is doubt as to his capacity to act effectively as a juror, the person may be brought before the judge, who shall determine whether or not he should act as a juror and, if not, shall discharge the summons; and for this purpose “the judge” means any judge of the High Court or any Circuit judge or Recorder.
F1Words in s. 10 repealed (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 168(3), Sch. 11; S.I. 1995/127, art. 2(1), Sch. 1, Appendix C
(1)The jury to try an issue before a court shall be selected by ballot in open court from the panel, or part of the panel, of jurors summoned to attend at the time and place in question.
(2)The power of summoning jurors under section 6 of this Act may be exercised after balloting has begun, as well as earlier, and if exercised after balloting has begun the court may dispense with balloting for persons summoned under that section.
(3)No two or more members of a jury to try an issue in a court shall be sworn together.
(4)Subject to subsection (5) below, the jury selected by any one ballot shall try only one issue (but any juror shall be liable to be selected on more than one ballot).
(5)Subsection (4) above shall not prevent—
(a)the trial of two or more issues by the same jury if the trial of the second or last issue begins within 24 hours from the time when the jury is constituted, or
(b)in a criminal case, the trial of fitness to plead by the same jury as that by whom the accused is being tried, if that is so directed by the court under section 4(4)(b) of the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act M11964, or
(c)in a criminal case beginning with a special plea, the trial of the accused on the general issue by the jury trying the special plea.
(6)In the cases within subsection (5)(a), (b) and (c) above the court may, on the trial of the second or any subsequent issue, instead of proceeding with the same jury in its entirety, order any juror to withdraw, if the court considers he could be justly challenged or excused, or if the parties to the proceedings consent, and the juror to replace him shall, subject to subsection (2) above, be selected by ballot in open court.
(1)In proceedings for the trial of any person for an offence on indictment—
(a)that person may challenge . . . F1all or any of the jurors for cause, and
(b)any challenge for cause shall be tried by the judge before whom that person is to be tried.
(2)Any party to county court proceedings to be tried by a jury shall have the same right of challenge to all or any of the jurors as he would have in the High Court.
(3)A challenge to a juror in any court shall be made after his name has been drawn by ballot (unless the court, pursuant to section 11(2) of this Act, has dispensed with balloting for him) and before he is sworn.
(4)The fact that a person summoned to serve on a jury is not qualified to serve shall be a ground of challenge for cause; but subject to that, and to the foregoing provisions of this section, nothing in this Act affects the law relating to challenge of jurors.
(5)In section 29 of the Juries Act M11825 (challenges to jurors by the Crown) the words “the Crown Court” shall continue to be substituted for the words “any of the courts hereinbefore mentioned”, notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 4 to the Courts Act M21971 and of the entries relating to the said Act in Schedule 5 to the Criminal Justice Act M31972.
(6)Without prejudice to subsection (4) above, the right of challenge to the array, that is to say the right of challenge on the ground that the person responsible for summoning the jurors in question is biased or has acted improperly, shall continue to be unaffected by the fact that, since the coming into operation of section 31 of the Courts Act M41971 (which is replaced by this Act), the responsibility for summoning jurors for service in the Crown Court, the High Court and county courts has lain with the Lord Chancellor.
F1Words repealed by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 123(6), 170(2), Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 16
M11825 c. 50.
M21971 c. 23.
M31972 c. 71.
M41971 c. 23.
If, on the trial of any person for an offence on indictment, the court thinks fit, it may at any time (whether before or after the jury have been directed to consider their verdict) permit the jury to separate.]
F1S. 13 substituted (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 43(1); S.I. 1995/127, art. 2(1), Sch. 1
Crown Court rules, and rules of court for civil cases, may make provision as respects views by jurors, and the places to which a juror may be called on to go to view shall not be restricted to any particular county or other area.
Jurors, after being sworn, may, in the discretion of the court, be allowed reasonable refreshment at their own expense.
(1)Where in the course of a trial of any person for an offence on indictment any member of the jury dies or is discharged by the court whether as being through illness incapable of continuing to act or for any other reason, but the number of its members is not reduced below nine, the jury shall nevertheless (subject to subsections (2) and (3) below) be considered as remaining for all the purposes of that trial properly constituted, and the trial shall proceed and a verdict may be given accordingly.
(2)On a trial . . . F1for any offence punishable with death subsection (1) above shall not apply on the death or discharge of any member of the jury unless assent to its then applying is given in writing by or on behalf of both the prosecution and the accused or each of the accused.
(3)Notwithstanding subsection (1) above, on the death or discharge of a member of the jury in the course of a trial of any person for an offence on indictment the court may discharge the jury in any case where the court sees fit to do so.
F1Words repealed by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 121, 123(6), 170(2), Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 16
(1)Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, the verdict of a jury in proceedings in the Crown Court or the High Court need not be unanimous if—
(a)in a case where there are not less than eleven jurors, ten of them agree on the verdict; and
(b)in a case where there are ten jurors, nine of them agree on the verdict.
(2)Subject to subsection (4) below, the verdict of a jury (that is to say a complete jury of eight) in proceedings in a county court need not be unanimous if seven of them agree on the verdict.
(3)The Crown Court shall not accept a verdict of guilty by virtue of subsection (1) above unless the foreman of the jury has stated in open court the number of jurors who respectively agreed to and dissented from the verdict.
(4)No court shall accept a verdict by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) above unless it appears to the court that the jury have had such period of time for deliberation as the court thinks reasonable having regard to the nature and complexity of the case; and the Crown Court shall in any event not accept such a verdict unless it appears to the court that the jury have had at least two hours for deliberation.
(5)This section is without prejudice to any practice in civil proceedings by which a court may accept a majority verdict with the consent of the parties, or by which the parties may agree to proceed in any case with an incomplete jury.
(1)No judgment after verdict in any trial by jury in any court shall be stayed or reversed by reason—
(a)that the provisions of this Act about the summoning or impanelling of jurors, or the selection of jurors by ballot, have not been complied with, or
(b)that a juror was not qualified in accordance with section 1 of this Act, or
(c)that any juror was misnamed or misdescribed, or
(d)that any juror was unfit to serve.
(2)Subsection (1)(a) above shall not apply to any irregularity if objection is taken at, or as soon as practicable after, the time it occurs, and the irregularity is not corrected.
(3)Nothing in subsection (1) above shall apply to any objection to a verdict on the ground of personation.
Juries Act 1974