Jury (Amendment) Act gets full parliamentary approval

The way is now clear for implementation of  the Jury (Amendment) Act, which was passed in the House of  Representatives on Tuesday afternoon.
   
The Senate had previously passed the Bill on October 16.
   
Attorney General Patrick Atkinson, piloting the Bill in the House, said it will, among other things, address the shortage of  jurors which has contributed to delays in the court system.

"While this is not a panacea for all the problems that exist, it goes a far way into reducing the challenges that the jury system has been subject to over the years," he said.

In that regard, he said the list of jurors available had been increased, the array of jurors to try cases had been reduced, while the issues that might  affect jurors in their employment had been addressed.