Petition · past parliament

Ensure the standard of proof direction is enough to overcome false accusations

Closed 372 signatures

What the petition asks

To convict, a jury must find a defendant guilty ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. Judges should be required to state to jury: “Defendants are innocent unless proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt; therefore if you have ANY doubts, and those doubts are REASONABLE, you must find the defendant not guilty”
Defendants are supposed to be considered innocent unless they can be PROVED guilty. But this is often not, in reality, what happens. If a complainant makes a false allegation, maintains it during cross-examination, and comes across as more believable (despite lying) than the defendant, that defendant is generally convicted because the jury makes their decision based on whom they choose to believe rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt. Innocent defendants should be protected, not convicted.

Timeline

4 Aug 2016 Petition opened for signatures
4 Feb 2017 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 372
Status Closed
Opened 4 Aug 2016
Closed 4 Feb 2017

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.