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	Statutes of Northern Ireland
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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (MAJORITY VERDICTS) ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (MAJORITY VERDICTS) ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971 -
LONG TITLE

An Act to enable juries in criminal proceedings to reach a verdict
by a majority of their members.
[16th December 1971]
Majority verdicts of juries in criminal proceedings.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (MAJORITY VERDICTS) ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971 -
SECT 1

1.(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the
verdict of a jury in criminal proceedings need not be unanimous if
ten of the jurors agree on the verdict and a verdict so agreed
upon is in this section referred to as "a majority verdict".

(2) A court shall not accept a majority verdict of guilty unless
the foreman of the jury has stated in open court the number of
jurors who respectively agreed to and dissented from the verdict.

(3) A court shall not accept a majority verdict unless it appears
to the court that the jury have had not less than two hours for
deliberation or such longer period as the court thinks reasonable
having regard to the nature and complexity of the case.

(4) This section shall not extend to the trial of

(a)any offence for which the court is required, upon the conviction
of the accused, to sentence him to death;

(b)an offence upon which an accused person was arraigned before the
commencement of this Act.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (MAJORITY VERDICTS) ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971 -
SECT 2
Short title.

2. This Act may be cited as the Criminal Procedure (Majority
Verdicts) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971.