Petitions/Require criminal trial juries to provide reasons using a verdict questionnaire
StatusOngoing
Opened18 Jun 2026
Closes
Government response
Parliamentary debateNot eligible
Milestones

Introduce legislation requiring criminal juries to complete a structured verdict questionnaire detailing the factual reasons for their decisions, learning from international models to ensure a transparent, appeal-resilient justice system.

English and Welsh juries deliver unreasoned verdicts, which can leave victims and defendants unable to see if the law was applied correctly. We think this lacks transparency and hinders fair appeals. Since 1995, Spain has successfully used a structured "verdict questionnaire" where juries answer specific factual questions to justify their decisions. We propose a system utilising legally vetted, standardised question templates and a judicial "pre-check" phase.

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Constituency engagement ranking

Luke Murphy
1Luke Murphy MP
Basingstoke
89
Peter Fortune
2Peter Fortune MP
Bromley and Biggin Hill
20
Chris Coghlan
3Chris Coghlan MP
Dorking and Horley
19
Kit Malthouse
4Kit Malthouse MP
North West Hampshire
15
Janet Daby
5Janet Daby MP
Lewisham East
14
Chris Ward
6Chris Ward MP
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven
13
Siân Berry
7Siân Berry MP
Brighton Pavilion
11
Clive Efford
8Clive Efford MP
Eltham and Chislehurst
11
Gareth Bacon
9Gareth Bacon MP
Orpington
11
Liam Conlon
10Liam Conlon MP
Beckenham and Penge
9