Page 174 - Law and the Media

Reporting Restrictions
Relating to minors, wardship, adoption, residence, guardianship, maintenance, or
rights of access to a child
Involving applications made under the Mental Health Act 1959
Where the court sits in private for reasons of national security
Where information relates to a secret process, discovery or invention that is in issue
in the proceedings
Where the court expressly prohibits publication of information relating to the
proceedings.

Publication of information relating to these proceedings will not in itself incur liability for
contempt of court. However, because it is not ‘a fair and accurate report of legal proceedings
held in public’ it may amount to an offence under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 (see
Chapter 10) if it involves publication of a seriously prejudicial matter. For the same reason
there will be no automatic defence to libel proceedings following publication, since absolute
privilege does not attach to reports of proceedings that are not held in open court. Extreme
caution should be exercised when giving consideration to publishing information relating to
such cases, and legal advice should be taken before publication. However, it is lawful to
publish the whole or part of any order made at such a hearing unless such publication is
expressly forbidden by the judge. In addition, the prohibition may be relaxed by the judge
if, on hearing representations by the parties, he believes it is in the interests of justice to do
so, for example, to trace a missing child.

9.2.4 Proceedings held in chambers

A small amount of criminal court work and an enormous amount of civil court work is
conducted in chambers. Most hearings in chambers are concerned with pre-trial procedural
matters, and are dealt with in this way purely for reasons of speed and administrative
efficiency. Most matters dealt with by the family courts are also held in chambers.

The average hearing in chambers is unlikely to be of particular interest to the media since it
is likely to be primarily concerned with technical points of procedure and pleading.
Nevertheless, there are occasions when the media will want to report on hearings in
chambers, for example, injunctions and residence applications. Generally, what happens
during proceedings in chambers is not confidential or secret and can be the subject of a media
report provided that it does not substantially prejudice the administration of justice, fall foul
of Section 12(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 or any order the court might make
restricting reporting.

Provided that there is no sign on the door of the court or judge’s room indicating that the
proceedings are private, members of the media may be admitted where practicable. The
requirement for hearings to be in public does not require the court to make special
arrangements for accommodating members of the public (Part 39.2(2) of the Civil Procedure
Rules). However, if members of the public or the media wish to attend a hearing in chambers
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