Enabling jurors: equality impact assessment

Executive summary

This document summarises the results from the equality impact assessment (“EQIA”) carried out in respect of a policy aimed at removing the legislative barrier that currently prevents people with certain physical disabilities from serving as jurors.

The policy was added to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill during Stage 2 of the Bill’s parliamentary passage. Further details about what happened at Stage 2, including the debate relating to the amendment that added this policy, can be found on the Scottish Parliament website.

The EQIA process was undertaken as part of the development of this policy. It looked at the impacts that the policy may have on people with the nine protected characteristics, which are:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation.

Potential impacts have been considered in the context of the public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different people, when carrying out their activities.

Given the subject matter of the policy, the most direct impact will be on people who identify as having a disability.