Page 190 - Law and the Media

Reporting Restrictions
It is also a defence to a charge of breaching the anonymity rule that the victim gave his or her
written consent to the relevant publication. However, written consent will not be a defence if it
is proved that ‘. . . any person interfered with the peace or comfort of the person giving the
consent with intent to obtain it’ (Section 5(5) of the 1992 Sexual Offences Act).

Only editors, proprietors and publishers of newspapers and their equivalents in broadcasting
will be criminally liable if a report is published which contravenes the Sexual Offences Acts.
The Attorney General must consent before a prosecution is brought.

9.7.5 Youth Justice Act 1999

When the relevant sections of the Youth Justice Act 1999 come into force, all restrictions
relating to the identification of victims of sexual offences will be contained in one act – namely,
the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992.

9.7.6 Cases involving indecency

The Judicial Proceedings (Regulations of Reports) Act 1926 automatically restricts
publication of any indecent, medical, surgical or physiological information that would be
calculated to injure public morals (Section 1(1)(a)).

It is not easy to define the sort of matters arising from legal proceedings that would be so
indecent as to injure public morals. Public morality is hardly constant in each generation, and
society today is certainly exposed to matters that are likely to have caused offence in 1926.
There have been few prosecutions brought under this Act in recent years.

9.8 Divorce cases

Husband and wife disputes have always been a source of good copy for reporters who work at
the popular end of the media market. However, the steady flow of lurid stories from the divorce
courts has been reduced in recent years as a result of the change in society’s attitude to divorce
and new legislation that means that the element of fault is rarely applicable in divorce
proceedings today. The vast number of divorces are now uncontested. However, those that are
defended in open court are subject to reporting restrictions.

Section 1(1)(b) of the Judicial Proceedings (Regulation of Reports) Act 1926 as amended by
the Family Law Act 1996 restricts the publishing of information relating to divorce, nullity or
judicial separation proceedings to:

The names, addresses and occupations of the parties and witnesses
A concise statement of the charges, defences and counter-charges in support of
which evidence has been given
Submissions on points of law and the rulings of the court thereon
The judgment of the court and observations by the judge in giving judgment.
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