Editing Not proven (section)

==Current procedure==
In Scotland, a criminal case may be decided either ''in solemn procedure'' by a jury (instructed by the judge), or ''in summary procedure'' by the judge alone (with no jury appointed). There are various rules for when the one or the other procedure may or must be employed; in general, juries are employed for the more severe accusations, while petty crimes and offences are treated summarily. A criminal case jury consists of fifteen jurors, who make their decision by a simple majority vote: eight votes are necessary and sufficient for the verdict ''guilty'',<ref name="Duff"/> which has replaced the verdict ''proven''.

Approximately one-third of all acquittal verdicts by Scottish juries use the formulation ''not proven''; the others use ''not guilty''. The verdict ''not proven'' also is available for judges in the summary procedure, and is employed in about a fifth of such acquittals.<ref name="Duff"/> The proportion of ''not proven'' acquittals, in general, is higher in the more severe cases; but so then are the proportion of acquittals versus convictions. This might have many different reasons, for example that on average it might be more difficult to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in the more severe cases.<ref name="In3V"/>

''Not proven'' is sometimes interpreted{{by whom|date=October 2021}} as indicating that the jury or judge is not convinced of the innocence of the accused; in fact, they may be convinced that the accused is guilty, but do not find the evidence sufficient for a conviction.