Filming will be permitted in high-profile UK court cases, marking a radical change which has been welcomed by broadcasters and members of the judiciary. The new rules will see TV cameras set up in court to cover the sentencing of defendants in the most serious criminal cases and those receiving significant media coverage. The move follows a three-month trial where sentencing remarks were recorded in eight UK Crown Courts. Whole trials will not however be televised with only the Judge alone being present on camera with no one else involved in court proceedings visible.
It is expected that the first broadcasts will take place in late spring/early summer after more than a decade of campaigning by broadcasters such as Sky News and ITN. Full sentencing remarks will also be published on a freely accessible website.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, praised the move, saying, “It is important that the justice system and what happens in our courts is as transparent as possible.
My hope is that there will be regular broadcasting of the remarks in high profile cases, and that will improve public understanding.”
Others have greeted the change with an element of caution, however, with Barristers warning of the possible negative impact of TV cameras in court, and the potential of court proceedings becoming a ‘spectator sport’.
The government said the changes are “an important first step” and it was possible that cameras might be permitted to film other aspects of court proceedings, however Ministers have remarked that this is still a long way off.
Sources: independent.co.uk, 16 January, ‘Television cameras allowed to broadcast criminals being jailed in English and Welsh courts for the first time’. ITV.com, 16 january, ‘TV cameras could soon be allowed to film in courts in England and Wales’.