The unreported anarchy of British courts

Article by Gavin Haynes, published in UnHerd

In truth, the old maxim that justice “must be seen to be done” has nothing to do with the rights of spectators or reporters in court. It comes from a judgement established in 1924 during a dangerous driving case, in which one of the judge’s clerks worked for a firm who was also suing the driver in his personal capacity. While the clerk was exonerated of having leant on the judges, the sentence was quashed simply because the Lord Chief Justice thought that it had the potential appearance of malfeasance.

A century later, the question of whether we the people have a right to know about justice remains unresolved. Despite our obsession with “transparency”, it is becoming increasingly hard to know what is going on inside Britain’s courts.

Read the rest here