*/
Television cameras are to be allowed into crown courts for the first time, the justice minister has announced.
Shailesh Vara said that judges’ sentencing remarks in eight courts in England and Wales will be filmed in a three-month pilot scheme.
The courts taking part are the Old Bailey and courts at Southwark in south London, Manchester (Crown Square), Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds and Cardiff.
Filming and recording in courts is banned under s 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and the Contempt of Court Act 1981. But it has been permitted in the Supreme Court since 2009 and in the Court of Appeal since 2013.
Vara said: ‘My hope is that this will lead to more openness and transparency as to what happens in our courts. Broadcasting sentencing remarks would allow the public to see and hear the judge’s decision in their own words.’
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, said he was ‘interested’ to see how this pilot progresses and that he will work with the Ministry of Justice to assess the impact of cameras in court.
The cameras will film only the judges passing sentence. There will be no footage of other parts of a case or any other court users, including staff, victims, witnesses, defendants, barristers and solicitors.
Television cameras are to be allowed into crown courts for the first time, the justice minister has announced.
Shailesh Vara said that judges’ sentencing remarks in eight courts in England and Wales will be filmed in a three-month pilot scheme.
The courts taking part are the Old Bailey and courts at Southwark in south London, Manchester (Crown Square), Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds and Cardiff.
Filming and recording in courts is banned under s 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and the Contempt of Court Act 1981. But it has been permitted in the Supreme Court since 2009 and in the Court of Appeal since 2013.
Vara said: ‘My hope is that this will lead to more openness and transparency as to what happens in our courts. Broadcasting sentencing remarks would allow the public to see and hear the judge’s decision in their own words.’
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, said he was ‘interested’ to see how this pilot progresses and that he will work with the Ministry of Justice to assess the impact of cameras in court.
The cameras will film only the judges passing sentence. There will be no footage of other parts of a case or any other court users, including staff, victims, witnesses, defendants, barristers and solicitors.
The age of criminal responsibility, extreme weather and conflict resolution – plus, new protocol for reporting bullying at the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP discusses her decade as a trade union and employment law barrister, the demands of life as a Law Officer and the number one priority shaping her work. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
Why every major sporting event needs an anti-corruption policy. By Louis Weston
At least not that way, says Richard Paige
