JuriesS

1 Qualification of jurors.S

(1)Subject F1...[F2 to section 1A], every person who—

(a)is for the time being registered as a parliamentary or local government elector;

[F3(b)is not less than 18 years of age;]

(c)has been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for any period of at least 5 years since attaining the age of 13 years; and

(d)is not among the persons listed in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, being persons hereby declared ineligible for, nor among those listed in Part II of that Schedule, being persons hereby declared disqualified from, jury service,

F4shall be qualified and liable to serve as a juror in any Scottish court . . . .

F5[F6(1A)]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F7(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F8(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)The fact that any person serving on the jury chosen for a particular trial (whether before or after the coming into force of this Act) is, under subsection (1) above, ineligible or not qualified for or disqualified from jury service, or was under section 1 of the Jurors (Scotland) Act M11825 not qualified for such service, (as the case may be), shall not in itself affect the validity of any verdict returned by that jury in the trial.

(5)A person cited to attend for jury service and not excused F9...[F10 under section 1A] may, if he shows to the satisfaction of the clerk of the court issuing the citation that there is good reason why he should be excused from attending in compliance with the citation, be excused by that clerk of court from so attending.

[F11(5A)Where the clerk of court has, under subsection (5) above, excused a person from jury service in any criminal proceedings he shall, unless he considers there to be exceptional circumstances which make it inappropriate to do so, within one year of the date of that excusal cite that person to attend for jury service in criminal proceedings.]

(6)Without prejudice to—

(a)the preceding provisions of this section;

[F12(aa)section 1A;]

(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F13

[F14(c)section 85(8) or 88(7) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995,]

the court before which a person is cited to attend for jury service may excuse that person from that jury service.