Administration of justice offences

Breaching reporting restrictions in criminal cases

There is a principle of open justice which applies to criminal proceedings. When a criminal case is listed for hearing in public, the application of the open justice principle means that a court officer must publish certain information where it is available, unless the publication is prohibited by a reporting restriction. This is provided for in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, SI 2020/759 (CrimPR).

The CrimPR also make provision for the public or media to request access to particular information held on file by the criminal courts in England and Wales in accordance with the open justice principle. See Practice Note: Access to information held in criminal court records, which explains the type of information that can be accessed by a non-party or a party affected by the case and also explains when the court’s permission is required, any conditions to be satisfied to gain access, the process and requirements for making an application seeking access to information held by the criminal courts as well as explaining when a party to a prosecution can object to the disclosure of information held on in court records. It also explains the position in relation to