Majority verdicts by juries

Reference received: 17 September 2004

Report

Report 111: Majority verdicts [PDF, 389Kb], August 2005

Tabled in parliament: 9 November 2005

Legislative action: No legislation was required to implement this Report. However, contrary to the Commission's recommendations, the requirement of majority verdicts was introduced for all but Commonwealth offences by the Jury Amendment (Verdicts) Act 2006 (NSW).

Judicial citation: R v PZG (2007) 171 A Crim R 62, [21]

Terms of reference

That the NSW Law Reform Commission inquire into and report on whether the unanimity requirement in criminal trials should be preserved in New South Wales.

In undertaking this inquiry, the Commission should have regard to:

Arguments for and against preserving the unanimity rule;
The incidence of hung juries in New South Wales and the possible effect of majority verdicts on hung juries;
The operation of majority verdicts in other Australian and international jurisdictions;
The advantages and disadvantages of different models for majority verdicts currently operating in other jurisdictions;
Whether any other procedures or measures could decrease the incidence of hung juries in New South Wales; and
any other related matter.

See also Reference 42 Criminal Procedurefor an earlier review of the law relating to jury verdicts.