When the media first challenged the OPA, they warned “the open justice principle is being heavily compromised”, it could leave journalists in a “legal grey area” when matters have not been set out openly in a courtroom, and it would likely lead to a dramatic reduction in the amount of court cases being reported to the public.
Reporters feared criminal cases would slip into the justice system unnoticed, without a formal court hearing where defendants traditionally enter the dock to confirm their identity and hear the charges read out for the first time.
Sian Harrison, then-Press Association law service editor, added: “Without first hearings in magistrates’ courts people would never learn key details, undoubtedly in the public interest, from cases involving serious offences.”.
The Conservative government rejected attempts in 2022 to amend the Judicial Review and Courts Act, to write in specific provisions for the media to be able to gain access to information on court hearings if they are dealt with in private.
Boris Johnson’s Conservative government pushed through proposals in 2022 for a new system which would move some criminal hearings out of the courtroom and online instead.
