News feature

Cameras to broadcast from Crown Court for first time

Television cameras will be allowed to broadcast from Crown Courts in England and Wales for the first time, following draft legislation laid by the government on 16 January.

The draft Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020 will allow cameras to broadcast the sentencing remarks of High Court and Senior Circuit judges in some of the most high-profile courts across the country, including the Old Bailey.

Timescales for the Order to come into force will depend on the passage of the legislation through parliament. All Crown Court staff who will be involved with this work will receive training and new guidance before filming commences.

The draft legislation follows a successful three-month pilot that allowed not-for-broadcast sentencing remarks to be filmed in eight Crown Courts and has been welcomed by ITN, Sky and the BBC.

The provision is part of the government’s wider court reform and digitalisation programme, 'using technology and modern ways of working to increase access to justice for people up and down the country'.

Current arrangements

Proceedings are currently broadcast from certain Court of Appeal cases, and extending transmission to the Crown Court ‘means that the public will be able to hear judges explain the reasons behind their sentences for the most serious offences’ says the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).

Filming is already permitted in the Supreme Court; however, this is carried out by the court itself and separate from this contract.

Restrictions

Broadcasters will only be able to film High Court and Senior Circuit judges sitting in the Crown Court and will need to obtain permission from the judiciary in advance. Filming will be restricted to sentencing remarks only and no other court users, including victims, witnesses, jurors and court staff, will be filmed.

Filming will be subject to the usual reporting restrictions and appropriately edited before leaving the courtroom. In the case where filming is to be broadcast live, there will be a short delay before broadcast to avoid any breach of reporting restrictions or any other error.

HMCTS will retain copyright of the footage, and HMCTS, MoJ and the Judicial Oÿce will be able to access any footage taken by broadcasters.

The full sentencing remarks of any case broadcast will be hosted on a website to which the public has access.