Transparency board calls for judicial review hearings to be broadcast

The Transparency and Open Justice Board has recommended that Administrative Court hearings should be broadcast in an effort to boost open justice.

The board, which is chaired by Mr Justice Nicklin, also set out proposals for enabling media representatives and members of the public to attend hearings remotely by video link where appropriate and get a hold of transcripts of proceedings more easily.

The Lady Chief Justice launched the board in April 2024 with the intention of working with the Ministry of Justice to support and coordinate a programme of changes to promote transparency and open justice.

In July, it put out a call for the media and all those interested in open justice to join a stakeholder committee to assist the board.

The board has since published its proposed key objectives, which state that the principles of transparency and open justice require the proceedings and decisions of courts and tribunals to be open and accessible to the public and the media.

In the draft document, it states that on a practice level, this should include:

1. Timely and effective access to information about cases that are pending before a Court or Tribunal
2. Timely and effective access to the core documents relating to the proceedings held by the Court or Tribunal
3. Effective access to hearings of Courts and Tribunals held in public

Concerning access to public hearings, it added that this should include:

1. Enabling members of the public and media representatives to attend the hearing in person (including maintaining designated spaces for media representatives) or remotely by video link where appropriate;
2. Permitting, where appropriate, broadcasting of the whole or part of the hearing; and
3. Enabling transcripts to be obtained of proceedings in public (subject to any applicable fees).

In a further explanatory document, the board said it believes that, in principle, Courts and Tribunals should be able to broadcast those parts of proceedings that it believes could be broadcast without prejudicing the administration of justice.

It also noted that any expansion in broadcasting in Courts and Tribunals would require either a change of legislation to remove the existing statutory provisions that currently prohibit broadcasting, or exceptions to permit specific broadcasting (e.g. the Statutory Instruments that have permitted broadcasting in the Court of Appeal and of sentencing in some Crown Court cases).

It added: "The Board has already recommended the extension of broadcasting to the Administrative Court and proposals are now a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

"Any expansion of broadcasting in Courts and Tribunals will need to be done carefully, but the Board believes that it is an objective that should be recognised in the Key Objectives."

The Transparency and Open Justice Board has invited any comments on the proposed key objectives to be submitted by 28 February 2025.

Adam Carey