§ Sir J. Mellorasked the Home Secretary what further steps he proposes to take to relieve persons, who are engaged whole-time upon work of urgent national importance, from the obligations of jury service?
§ Sir J. AndersonI would refer my hon. Friend to the Defence (Administration of Justice) Regulations which were made on the 19th June last, and of which I am sending him a copy. These Regulations abolish the right of peremptory challenge of jurors and enable a Sheriff to make good any deficiency in the number of jurors by calling upon persons who can be found in the court or elsewhere. These provisions should enable courts to carry on with a smaller panel of jurors than heretofore and thus enable Summoning Officers to grant excusals from jury service more freely. In a circular letter about these Regulations which was sent to Under-Sheriffs in July last, I called attention to the importance in present circumstances of calling up for jury service no greater number of persons than is absolutely necessary, and I expressed the view 1483W that if a person, on being summoned for jury service, could show that he was engaged on important national work, that would be a good reason for excusing him from attendance.