The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, has announced the formation of a new transparency and justice board that will look at how to increase media and public access to Courts and Tribunals.
Announced as part of her keynote address to the Society of Editors 25th Anniversary Conference taking place in London, the transparency board will be chaired by Mr Justice Nicklin and will work to modernise the judiciary’s approach to open justice as well as focusing on how to increase media and public access as well as timely and effective access to listings, documents and remote hearings, she said.
Addressing more than 175 editors and news leaders at the event, Baroness Carr added: “The judiciary and media share a common duty: we are and must continue to be the guardians of open justice. The greatest threat comes not from direct attack on the principle, but rather from careless – sometimes inadvertent – failures to protect its ideals.
“I intend the judiciary to step up, continuing to play our important constitutional role of protecting and promoting open justice as an essential element of the rule of law. The Board that I have established will take this important work forward, and I am delighted to be publishing its terms of reference today. It will review and challenge the way that the judiciary works and ensure that openness and transparency is at the heart of what we do. We will renew the promise that justice will not only be done, but will be seen to be done.”
Areas in which the board would be considering would include the “careful expansion of broadcasting hearings”, Baroness Carr confirmed, as well as making remote access to hearings easier.
She added: “Comments to the Civil Justice Council in its examination of the effect on online hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic are telling. The Council reported that some journalists found that online attendance has enabled them to report more easily on a wider range of proceedings than in cases where they have physically to attend court.”
Highlighting the importance of media scrutiny of the justice system, Baroness Carr said that both the press and the judiciary have an important role to play in keeping the public informed.
She added: “There should be no shying away from press discussion of the good, the bad, and the ugly where the justice system is concerned. Its democratic accountability depends upon it. As has been said before, and it bears repeating, both the independent judiciary and the independent press are essential features of a healthy democracy. Both must, however, carry out their role fairly and effectively.”
The conference, which is sponsored by Vodafone, Allwyn and Cision, also heard from the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP on the importance of freedom of expression as well as panel discussions on the future of police and media relations, reporting from the frontline and journalism and AI.
The full text of Baroness Carr’s speech can be read here.
Photo: Lucy Young
