UK’s court system must adapt to digital age in the interests of open justice, MPs say
The UK’s court system must adapt to the new digital age to ensure the British public have access to reliable, high-quality information, MPs have said.
In a new report, the House of Commons Justice Committee calls for court documents to be made available for free, as it argues the decline of court reporting could cause a democratic deficit.
The report, by MPs including Dianne Abbott and Sir Robert Neill, says the rise of digital media has led to a major drop in the number of court reporters, as an “erosion” of newspapers revenues has led to a “stark” decline in coverage of Britain’s courts.
The capture of advertising revenues by social media and tech companies has seen newspapers become increasingly reluctant to spend time and money covering news from the courts.
The decline of court reporting has in turn contributed to a “democratic deficit” caused by a lack of publicly available information around the administration of justice and the rule of law, the report says.
“In acting as the eyes and ears of the public, the media perform a vital role in keeping the public informed on the operation of the justice system,” the report says, as it warns a lack of high-quality information has negatively impacted the quality of public debate on the justice system.
In response, the report calls for a new approach to communicating information about court proceedings, to ensure the principles of open justice are upheld in the modern, digital world.
The report says court documents should be made freely available to journalists, as it notes that currently court documents can be “practically difficult and expensive to obtain”.
The UK government currently charges £11 per document through its CE File e-filing service.
It notes that journalists, unable to attend court in person, are now increasingly relying on written documents when reporting on the justice system, as it argues a centralized platform could help reporters access the documents they need.
The report also raises concerns about a lack of easily accessible information on reporting restrictions.
It argues there is a growing problem of restrictions going unchallenged, as newspapers lack the time and money to challenge them.