TV in court

The Lord Chancellor is pursuing the proposition of cameras being allowed into court rooms. About a dozen broadcasting companies have met with officials of the Lord Chancellor’s Department to draft rules for a pilot project to film cases in the Court of Appeal. Proposals will then be sent for consideration to the Lord Chief Justice and other senior judges, together with the Bar and the Law Society. Lord Irvine has said that televising of some high-profile appeal cases, such as the extradition hearings of General Pinochet and the decision whether the conjoined twins Jodie and Mary should be separated, could have an educational effect on how the public perceives the judicial system by leading to a greater public understanding. The proposal would allow broadcasters to produce news bulletins, features and documentary material. The Law Society had expressed concern that any pilot should not cover cases in which oral evidence was to be given by witnesses, most of whom already find the experience of giving evidence very stressful.