Category Archives: access to justice

A sensible proposal for online recording of reporting restrictions

Amid concerns over proposed changes to the Contempt of Act 1981, through the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, which would introduce new statutory powers for the removal of online material*, it seems worth highlighting some separate recommendations on contempt and … Continue reading

Posted in academic research, access to justice, contempt of court, courts, media law, press freedom, reporting restrictions | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What data should the Ministry of Justice open up?

The Ministry of Justice has listed 43 unpublished data-sets that could be opened up for public use. It is part of a public consultation on the National Information Infrastructure (NII), a new initiative for improving government data. The government is … Continue reading

Posted in academic research, access to justice, courts, criminal law, data, digital open justice, education, freedom of information | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Coming soon: People Power – A user’s guide to democracy

An “accessible guide to democracy in Britain” will be published by Bantam Press (Transworld) next month, covering topics including national and local government,  free speech, the internet and the rule of law. The author of People Power, Dan Jellinek, is … Continue reading

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Privacy and restrictions on disclosure in Tribunals

As a postscript to my post on open courts and the ‘right to be forgotten’: PA Media Lawyer has highlighted that a new Rule 50 of the Employment Tribunal Regulations 2013 stipulates a new provision for “Privacy and restrictions on … Continue reading

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Open courts data, open justice… and the right to be forgotten?

I dipped my toe in the curious world of data protection enforcement yesterday [4 June], at the first joint seminar of the DP Forum and NADPO (The National Association of Data Protection Officers). The theme was ‘The challenges of complying … Continue reading

Posted in access to justice, blogging, courts, data, digital open justice, freedom of expression, freedom of information, human rights, privacy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The ‘public’ in the Public Inquiry

This post originally appeared in Three-D Issue 20 – the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (Meccsa) newsletter.  The public was supposed to be at the heart of the Leveson Inquiry. When it was announced, David Cameron described how the … Continue reading

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What’s libel got to do with it? Looking at the Royal Charter’s Arbitration process proposals

A crucial part of the draft Royal Charter is Clause 22, Schedule 3, on Arbitration services. Carl Gardner has previously written about the reasons that a lone blogger might want to be able to access these. Draft Royal Charter, Clauses … Continue reading

Posted in access to justice, blogging, civil litigation, defamation, media law, media regulation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Open letter: Justice and Security Bill is ‘a charter for cover ups’

My name is among the signatories of this open letter written in protest at the measures proposed in the Justice and Security Bill, which has reached its report stage and third reading in the House of Commons.  For more background … Continue reading

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New paper: Leveson online – A publicly reported inquiry

My paper on public access to the Leveson Inquiry has been published in the new issue of Ethical Space, The International Journal of Communication Ethics. Abstract: The Leveson Inquiry has broken new ground for court and political reporting: for the first … Continue reading

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“Full” courts lists continued: what are the data protection and contempt issues? And who should be able to access them?

A quick update to my recent post on digital publication of Magistrates’ court lists. I reported how blogger Richard Taylor obtained a “full” court list from his local Magistrates’ Court following a Freedom of Information request. However, he did not … Continue reading

Posted in access to justice, blogging, courts, data, digital open justice, public interest, reporting restrictions | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment