- Chief Justice pushes broadcasting of Supreme Court
- AAP
- 22/03/2007 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: admin ( 59 articles in 2007 )
PERTH - The Chief Justice of Western Australia believes broadcasting the Supreme Court's proceedings on television and the web would allow the public to better understand the judicial system.
In a speech to the Australian Press Council in Perth tonight, Justice Wayne Martin outlined the importance of giving the public the greatest possible access to the judicial system.
Justice Martin said broadcasting and webcasting court proceedings would help ensure the public's confidence in the judicial system.
"I am keen to pursue these possibilities in the Supreme Court of Western Australia," Justice Martin said. "I have come to the conclusion that the courts must be more proactive in the use of the technology which will enable audio visual images to be recorded without interference to the judicial process, and in providing the public with the information and explanation needed to comprehend what occurs in our courts."
"The media are precisely what the word connotes - namely, the medium by which the principle of open justice is communicated to the community which we serve."
Justice Martin said while webcasting provided almost instantaneous access to the court it also was open to misuse. "There are very real dangers of misuse of personal and private information for such things as identity theft, harassment and intimidation," he said.
More effort should be made to make court documents available to the media where it did not prejudice court proceedings or infringe on people's privacy, Justice Martin said. "The basic principle of open access to all documents used in court should, in my view, be accepted as a necessary and fundamental aspect of the principle."
In a speech to the Australian Press Council in Perth tonight, Justice Wayne Martin outlined the importance of giving the public the greatest possible access to the judicial system.
Justice Martin said broadcasting and webcasting court proceedings would help ensure the public's confidence in the judicial system.
"I am keen to pursue these possibilities in the Supreme Court of Western Australia," Justice Martin said. "I have come to the conclusion that the courts must be more proactive in the use of the technology which will enable audio visual images to be recorded without interference to the judicial process, and in providing the public with the information and explanation needed to comprehend what occurs in our courts."
"The media are precisely what the word connotes - namely, the medium by which the principle of open justice is communicated to the community which we serve."
Justice Martin said while webcasting provided almost instantaneous access to the court it also was open to misuse. "There are very real dangers of misuse of personal and private information for such things as identity theft, harassment and intimidation," he said.
More effort should be made to make court documents available to the media where it did not prejudice court proceedings or infringe on people's privacy, Justice Martin said. "The basic principle of open access to all documents used in court should, in my view, be accepted as a necessary and fundamental aspect of the principle."
1Will not be visible to public.
2Receive notification of other comments posted for this article. To cease notification after having posted click here.
3To make a link clickable in the comments box enclose in link tags - ie.<link>Link</link>.
4To show an image enclose the image URL in tags - ie.<image>https://fredspage.com/box.jpg</image>. Note: image may be resized if too large
To further have your say, head to our forum Click Here
To contribute a news article Click Here
To view or contribute a Quote Click Here