Page 173 - Law and the Media

Law and the Media
if he considers it necessary to avoid prejudice to national security. A much greater portion of
civil court work takes place in private. The authority to sit in private in civil proceedings is
found mainly in the Civil Procedure Rules and the Administration of Justice Act 1960.

Civil Procedure Rules
Part 39.2(3) of the Civil Procedure Rules sets out when a hearing, or part of it, may be held in
private – for example when:

Publicity would defeat the object of the hearing
It involves matters relating to national security
It involves confidential information and publicity would damage that
confidentiality
It is necessary to protect the interests of a child or patient
It is a hearing made without notice and it would be unjust to any respondent for there
to be a public hearing
It involves uncontentious matters arising out of the administration of a trust or
estate
The court considers it necessary in the interests of justice.

The decision whether to hold a hearing in private will be made by the judge having regard to
any common law or statutory power he may have, any representations made to him by the
parties or the media, and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Practice
Direction 39 supplementing Part 39 of the Civil Procedure Rules paragraphs 1.4 and 1.4A).
There are 11 categories of case that should, in the first instance, be listed by the court as
hearings in private (Practice Direction 39A supplementing Part 39 of the Civil Procedure Rules
paragraph 1.5), such as applications for possession of premises by mortgagees or landlords.

If the court or room in which the proceedings are taking place has a sign on the door stating that
the proceedings are ‘private’, members of the public who are not parties to the proceedings,
including the media, will not be admitted unless the court gives permission (Practice Direction
39 supplementing Part 39 of the Civil Procedure Rules paragraph 1.9).

Even if proceedings are held in private under this rule, they are not secret proceedings. Other
than in exceptional circumstances (for example, where it would prejudice the administration of
justice or where the court has made an order restricting reporting) or cases governed by the
Administration of Justice Act 1960, it is still possible for the media to pass comment on what
happened during the proceedings. The practical difficulty is that the media are not allowed to
be present during the hearing itself. They must, therefore, rely to a great extent upon
interviewing those directly involved in the proceedings outside the door of the court and
carrying out the searches referred to in Section 9.2.2.

Administration of Justice Act 1960
The general rule is that the publication of information relating to proceedings before any
court sitting in private shall not, of itself, be contempt of court except in cases:
136