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Law Commission Contempt of Court: reducing the publisher’s risk of breaching court reporting restrictions
The Law
Commission is recommending that a new online service be established to help
journalists and publishers reporting criminal trials discover whether reporting
restrictions are in force and, if so, why. The service would be open to all
publishers, from large media organisations to individual
bloggers.
To protect the defendant’s right to a
fair trial, the judge has the power to order that specific information is not
disclosed to the jury. In exceptional circumstances, to prevent the jury from
discovering that information in the media, the judge can impose reporting
restrictions, postponing publication until the end of the trial and sometimes
longer.
At the moment, there is no formal system for
notifying potential publishers that a restriction is in force or why. But
publishers who breach a restriction risk being prosecuted for contempt of
court.
In a report
published today, the Law Commission is
recommending that court reporting postponement orders are posted on a single
website, making it easy for potential publishers to establish whether an order
is in force. A similar website currently operates in Scotland. Under the
recommendation, the website would include a restricted area where, for a
charge, registered users could find out the detail of the reporting restriction
and sign up for automated email alerts of new orders.
Professor David Ormerod QC, the Law
Commissioner leading the project, said: “Transparency is central to our
justice system, but the public’s right to know and the right to freedom
of expression must be balanced with the defendant’s right to a fair
trial.
“Media organisations tell us they
struggle to find out whether reporting restrictions are in force and, if so,
what the terms are. The current notification system is unreliable and
inconsistently applied. It leaves publishers – be they large media
organisations or individual citizen journalists – at risk of contempt and
may restrict their ability to report proceedings.
“By enabling publishers to establish
easily and accurately that a reporting restriction is in force, our solution
would greatly reduce their risk of contempt and enable them to comply with the
court’s restrictions or report proceedings to the public with
confidence”.
The Commission ran a pilot to assess the
impact of gathering and publishing reporting restriction notices, which
suggests that the costs of such a scheme to the public purse would be
modest.
The report, Contempt
of Court (2): Court Reporting, is
available on the Commission’s website: www.lawcom.gov.uk.
Notes for editors
1. The Law Commission is a non-political independent body, set up by Parliament in 1965 to keep all the law of England and Wales under review, and to recommend reform where it is needed.
2. Professor David Ormerod QC will be available for interview on Tuesday 25 March
3. The report will be available on the Commission’s website from 00:01 Wednesday 26 March 2014
4. An online list of section 4(2) orders made in criminal cases is currently in operation in Scotland: www.scotcourts.gov.uk/current-business/court-notices/cont empt-of-court-orders.
5. For more details on this project, visit www.lawcom.gov.uk
6. For all press queries please contact:
Phil Hodgson, Head of
External Relations: 020 3334 3305
Jackie Samuel: 020 3334 3648
Email: communications@lawcommission.gsi.gov.uk