Televise the courts, says Neuberger

Delivering the 2011 Judicial Studies Board lecture, the Master of the Rolls said it was “a matter of concern” that members of the public rarely enter the courts to observe cases.

Acknowledging that there was little interest from commercial broadcasters in televising Supreme Court hearings, he said: “But from a public interest perspective might there not be an argument now for its hearings, and some hearings of the Court of Appeal, being televised on some equivalent of the Parliament Channel, or via the BBC iPlayer.

“If we wish to increase public confidence in the justice system, transparency and engagement, there is undoubtedly something to be said for televising some hearings, provided that there were proper safeguards to ensure that this increased access did not undermine the proper administration of justice."

Criminal trials would be excluded and, as a safeguard, the judge or judges in each case could be given full rights of veto over what could be broadcast, he said.

Televising cases could help to correct the misreporting by many tabloids of the Human Rights Act, he said.

He welcomed the “advent of court tweeting”.