Justice system sham

THE jury system is not just the cornerstone of our criminal justice system: it is the very bedrock on which such a system is built.

The ultimate guarantee of every citizen’s rights is the knowledge that an accused person will be given the right to plead their case before a jury of his or her peers. This is the inviolable safeguard against injustice and, in particular, against unlawful or ill-founded oppression by the State or its agents.

Increasingly, however, that safeguard is being eroded – very simply because so many people do not serve on juries.

Every man and woman in the country – with a very limited number of obvious exceptions – should expect to serve on a jury at least once. Not only does this act as a bulwark against wrong, it also serves to remind us all of the civic duties we are expected to carry out. With our many rights as citizens come responsibilities – and serving on a jury is one.

Now we learn that the vast majority of people who ignore jury service summonses are allowed to get away with it.

Even though thousands of people called for jury service fail to show up each year, only 20 of them have been fined in three years.

This is shameful. Broad reform of jury service rules is long overdue. As well as casting the net more widely and limiting the excuses for non-attendance, we must also ensure that those who do not comply are penalised. The functioning of our society demands nothing less.