The law which prevents a person from being tried twice for the same offence is to be studied by experts.
The Scottish Law Commission has published a paper on the 800-year-old principle of double jeopardy, raising the question of whether there should be exceptions to the rule.
The rule against double jeopardy prevents a person from being tried twice for the same crime. This means that it is not possible to retry a person who has been acquitted of a crime, even if new evidence emerges in relation to the case or if it appears that the original trial was "tainted" in some way, such as by intimidation or bribery of jurors or witnesses.
The Commission says it wants comments on whether any exceptions to the rule should be brought in, and if so how these should operate.
There have been calls from Conservatives for the rule to be scrapped if fresh evidence emerges, as it was in England in 2005.
Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken MSP said: "Before the last elections, Scottish Conservatives proposed that in cases where new or compelling evidence becomes available, a retrial should be allowed at the discretion of the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Court of Criminal Appeal."
He added: "In recent years, forensic technology has advanced to such an extent that material not formally usable as evidence could now be pivotal.
Paul Martin MSP, Labour`s community safety spokesman said: "The public are rightly concerned that some offenders are not being convicted and this is an area of law that needs to be considered.
"In this new era of criminal detection, with DNA and other scientific evidence available, it’s right that this issue is explored fully."
First Minister Alex Salmond indicated back in 2007 that the law on double jeopardy could be scrapped, telling at the time that the issue had to be approached in a "comprehensive and thoughtful manner".
