Campaign News

Calls for bilingual Welsh juries rejected

10:37am Wednesday 10th March 2010

JUSTICE Secretary Jack Straw has rejected calls for bilingual juries in cases where much of the evidence was likely to be given in Welsh.

Defendants and witnesses in trials in Wales have the legal right to give evidence in Welsh but juries must be selected at random - meaning some or all members of the panel may be unable to speak the language.

Mr Straw ruled out selecting jurors based on their ability to speak Welsh because it could have a negative impact on "social inclusion and justice’’.

In a written statement to Parliament he said: "Participants in criminal and civil trials in Wales have the right to use the Welsh language in court.

"There is, however, no provision for ensuring that juries in Wales must be comprised of members who are bilingual in both Welsh and English.

"The reason for this is that juries must, by law, be selected at random from the whole community.’’ Following a consultation on changing the system, Mr Straw said: "The Government has decided not to proceed with bilingual juries, primarily because the balance of argument lies against their negative impact on the principle of random selection of juries from the community as a whole, and hence on social inclusion and justice.’’ According to the 2001 census 582,368 persons age three and over in Wales were able to speak Welsh - 20.8% of the population.

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