// Postponing prejudicial contemporaneous reports of proceedings
Under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, the Crown Court has power in certain restricted circumstances to order that publication of reports of part or all of the proceedings held in open court be postponed for so long as necessary, where such a postponement is necessary for avoiding a substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice in those or other proceedings.
Under section 4(2), Courts should consider whether publication would create a substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice and whether postponement of publication of a fair and accurate report of part or the whole of the proceedings which have been held in open court is necessary to avoid that risk. The court should only exercise its discretion to make an order after weighing the competing interests of open justice and fair trial.
The courts have suggested that where possible the question of any imposition of reporting restrictions are best dealt with in advance of trial. The Crown Court has discretion to invite representations from the media or their legal representatives as to whether an order should be made, varied or lifted. It may make a temporary order to restrict publication pending its hearing to determine whether an order should be made. The media has the formal right to appeal against the Crown Court’s imposition of an order under section 159 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
The Practice Direction (Contempt of Court Act 1981)5 requires that the order must be committed to writing either by the judge or by the clerk under his supervision. It must be formulated in precise terms and must state (a) its precise scope, (b) the time at which it shall cease to have effect, if appropriate, and (c) the specific purpose of making the order.
It may be appropriate for the judge to make clear whether and to what extent the terms of the order can be published. [Archbold 2000: 28-77 to 28-83] //