Open Justice
Open Justice means the justice system is open for the public which can also include public access to trials.
It has nothing to do with broadcasting trials live on TV or radio. There are no differences between the media, journalists and members of the public.
If the justice system is open there can't be secret trials or secret judgments e.g. secret court orders.
In other words: Open Justice means that there are no secrets how the justice system works or how the judgment was made based on which paragraph of the law.
Members of the public that couldn't attend the trial have the possibility to access the transcript of court proceedings. This is the definition of Open Justice.
In R v Legal Aid, Justice Woolf wrote:
The need to be vigilant arises from the natural tendency for the general principle to be eroded and for exceptions to grow by accretion as the exceptions are applied by analogy to existing cases.
This is the reason it is so important not to forget why proceedings are required to be subjected to the full glare of a public hearing. It is necessary because the public nature of proceedings deters inappropriate behaviour on the part of the court. It also maintains the public's confidence in the administration of justice. It enables the public to know that justice is being administered impartially. It can result in evidence becoming available which would not become available if the proceedings were conducted behind closed doors or with one or more of the parties' or witnesses' identity concealed. It makes uninformed and inaccurate comment about the proceedings less likely. If secrecy is restricted to those situations where justice would be frustrated if the cloak of anonymity is not provided, this reduces the risk of the sanction of contempt having to be invoked, with the expense and the interference with the administration of justice which this can involve.
Open Justice is one of the oldest principles of English law, going back to before Magna Carta.
Online, the Oxford University has the "Open Justice Initiative" to promote transparency in justice.[1]
Open justice is a principle of the common law that proceedings ought to be open to the public, including the contents of court files and public viewing of trials. [2]
Open Justice Legal Definition: A principle of the common law that proceedings ought to be open to the public, including the contents of court files and public viewing of trials. [3]
Open Society Justice Initiative: A society that promotes human rights also has a spcific open justice and anti-corruption section. [4]
A UK Ministry of Justice website dedicated to keeping people informed about justice in the UK. [5]
This article "Open Justice" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
