JURY MANUAL

Updated January 2026

The Judicial Institute has been working on reformatting the Jury Manual. The chapters which have been updated since 3 September 2024 can be found as individual files below. The remaining chapters are contained in a separate PDF and are correct up to 3 September 2024.

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        Jury Manual

1. Judicial management of jury trials
2. General directions
3. Written directions for jurors in Scottish courts
4. Alibi
5. Coercion
6. Concert
7. Consent
8. Corroboration - evidence of distress
9. Corroboration generally
10. De recenti statements
11. Diminished responsibility
12. Evidence of recordings
13. Hearsay
14. Identification - the need to take care
15. Incrimination
16. Insanity
17. Morrison and McCutcheon rules (exculpatory and mixed statements)
18. Res gestae statement
19. Skilled witnesses and expert evidence
20. Statements made to the police by a suspect
21. Statements made outwith the presence of the accused
22. Conspiracy
23. Murder and attempted murder
24. Common law rape
25. Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 - Threatening or Abusive Behaviour
26. Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 - Stalking
27. Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018
28. Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
29. Road Traffic Act 1988
30. Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (TBC)
31. Alternative verdicts
32. Problems with verdicts
33. Verdicts - concluding remarks