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Law and the Media
in private was held to be irrational (R v Secretary of State for Health ex parte Wagstaffe
(2001)) because it was contrary to the principle of freedom of expression and the expectation
that the hearing would take place in public.

Breach of reporting restrictions is a serious criminal offence and/or contempt of court. It is
punishable by a fine and, in extreme cases, the penalty is imprisonment.

9.2 The open court rule

9.2.1 General principles

The fundamental principle that court proceedings should be held openly and in public so that
justice is seen to be done and the public can be informed about the justice administered in
their name was considered by Lord Halsbury in the case of Scott v Scott (1913):
. . . publicity is the very sole of justice . . . and the surest of all guards against
improbity. It keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial.
To facilitate the process of open justice, the media are permitted to sit in the courtroom itself
and even to be present on occasions when the public are excluded. This is:
. . . not because of any special wisdom, interest or status enjoyed by proprietors,
editors or journalists. It is because the media are the eyes and ears of the general
public. They act on behalf of the general public. Their right to know and their right
to publish is neither more nor less than that of the general public. Indeed, it is that
of the general public for whom they are trustees.
(A-G v Guardian Newspapers Ltd (No 2) (1988))

The majority of hearings in criminal proceedings are heard in public. The Civil Procedure
Rules, which came into force in April 1999, govern the conduct of civil proceedings. The
general rule set out in Part 39.2(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules is that hearings are to be in
public.

A court is not ‘open’ if the judge takes deliberate steps to prevent the public or the media
attending. In Macpherson v Macpherson (1936) the trial took place at lunchtime in the judge’s
library, to which the only access was through a door marked ‘private’. On appeal it was held
that, in effect, the hearing had been held in private. As there was no jurisdiction at that time for
a court to do so, it was held that the order made at the end of the trial was voidable.

9.2.2 Obtaining information

One consequence of the rule that hearings should generally be in public is the automatic right
to obtain copies of any civil judgment or order made in public on payment of the appropriate
fee. There is no standard fee. Initially requests for copies of judgments or orders should be
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