As from 1 October 2009, and for the first time in English legal history, Supreme Court proceedings may be televised. We’re passing comment on this in the Naked Law forum because although no mention has yet been made of the possibility of downloading coverage from the internet, one assumes it would be the next logical step...and even if it isn’t, this story is of general interest!
Broadcasting is banned from all other courts in England and Wales, but new rules apply to the Supreme Court under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Although the public have been able to see parts of House of Lords proceedings previously, such as the Pinochet extradition, the new broadcasting rules allow unprecedented access to proceedings.
The big objective of broadcasting is to make proceedings more accessible to the public, although there are (naturally) limitations. Footage will be filmed by the court and then passed to broadcasters; justices will be able to stop filming as necessary; and the footage may only be used for news, current affairs and educational and legal training programmes. In this way, the State should be able to overcome privacy issues, but even so, one feels that Strasbourg beckons in the not too distant future.
It remains to be seen whether the decisions of the Supreme Court Justices will be scrutinised as carefully as those of Alesha Dixon during Strictly Come Dancing.
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