The bill to scrap Scotland’s controversial “not proven” verdict and make changes to the nation’s justice system has been published.

The Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill also proposes to reduce the size of criminal juries from 15 to 12.

It aims to address a number of issues around serious sexual offences, creating a new specialist sexual offences court.

Ministers will also have the power to carry out a pilot of rape trials being conducted by a single judge without a jury.

For jury trials, the majority needed for a guilty verdict will be at least two-thirds.

Guilty, not guilty and not proven are three verdicts which can be returned in Scotland.

Last year, then first minister Nicola Sturgeon committed to abolishing the third verdict in the Scottish legal system.

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The not proven verdict is unique to Scots law and there is no equivalent in other jurisdictions.

It is seen as controversial because the accused is deemed innocent in the eyes of the law but faces the stigma of having not been completely cleared.

Critics have also argued that the verdict fails to provide closure for victims.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “This landmark legislation is among the most significant since devolution and will ensure fairness is cemented into the bedrock of Scotland’s modern-day justice system.

“Building on the experiences of survivors, victims and their families, these key reforms will make justice services more sensitive to the trauma it can cause.

“This government has been clear we must take action to improve the experience of those who suffer sexual abuse.

“The majority are women, who must be supported to have trust and confidence that the processes of justice will serve their needs, allow them to give their best evidence and support them in their recovery.”

She also hailed the creation of a new independent commissioner for victims and witnesses.

Scotland correspondent

This is the biggest shakeup of Scotland’s fully devolved legal system in hundreds of years.

Scottish juries have been able to deliver a “not proven” verdict for generations. This bill from Humza Yousaf’s Edinburgh administration scraps that.

The third option, designed to provide greater protection to the accused, has been controversial with campaigners who suggest it can be confusing – while defence lawyers claim it can stigmatise their clients by appearing not to clear them of guilt.

The suggestions of scrapping not proven has been swirling around for years and still requires parliamentary approval. But the SNP and Green majority makes it a foregone conclusion.

Perhaps the biggest and most contested change in generations is the potential removal of a jury in rape trials, which would see judges replacing the role of the public in determining if someone committed the crime or not.

The Scottish government insist it will help victims, but opponents believe it will create a two-tier system of justice – with other High Court trials such as murder and drugs remaining untouched.

Campaigners feel this is a victory for survivors but there will, no doubt, be teething problems which could be problematic with people’s lives and futures at stake.

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Earlier, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland welcomed plans to scrap the not proven verdict, saying she had “no doubt that guilty men are walking free”.

Sandy Brindley said the changes were a “really positive development”.

However, advocate Thomas Ross KC took the opposite view, saying jurors should be trusted to carry out the job they have been given.

He told Good Morning Scotland: “I work with prosecutors every day, I don’t hear them saying that they’re concerned about the conviction rate.

“I hear it every time Sandy’s invited to come on one of these programmes.”

Previously, the Law Society has warned there could be an increase in miscarriages of justice if not proven is scrapped as a verdict.

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