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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Courts Legislation Amendment
(Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
Overview of Bill
The object of this Bill is to amend the District Court Act 1973 and Supreme Court Act 1970 to
require the District Court and Supreme Court to permit the recording and broadcast of certain
judgments given by those Courts in open court unless satisfied that one of a limited number of
exclusionary grounds is present.
Outline of provisions
Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days to be appointed
by proclamation.
Schedule 1 Amendment of District Court Act 1973 No 9
Schedule 1 amends the District Court Act 1973 to insert a new Part in that Act dealing with the
recording and broadcast of certain judgments of the District Court. The new Part provides for the
following matters:
Proceedings to which Part applies
Proposed section 177 excludes certain kinds of proceedings in the Court from the application of
the new Part. These include proceedings held in closed court, bail proceedings, certain appeals
involving children and young persons and certain proceedings concerning forensic procedures.
b2014-029-94.d11
Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Explanatory note
The proposed section also enables the Governor to make regulations to exclude other classes of
proceedings.
Meaning of "judgment remarks"
The new Part only relates to the recording and broadcast of judgment remarks of the District
Court. Proposed section 178 defines judgment remarks of the Court to mean:
(a) in relation to a criminal trial--the delivery of the verdict, and any remarks made by the
Court when sentencing the accused person, that are delivered or made in open court, and
(b) in relation to any other proceedings--any remarks made by the Court in open court when
announcing the judgment determining the proceedings.
Proposed section 178 also defines certain other terms used in the new Part.
Applications for permission
Proposed section 179 enables a person to apply to the District Court in proceedings to which the
new Part applies for the Court to permit the recording and broadcast of judgment remarks of the
Court that are made in those proceedings.
The District Court will be required to grant permission for one or more news media organisations
(whether or not the organisations are also the applicants) to broadcast the judgment remarks unless
it is satisfied that one of the exclusionary grounds specified in the proposed section is present.
The following are the exclusionary grounds:
(a) that the broadcast of the judgment remarks would be likely to reveal the identity of a person
in circumstances where the disclosure, publication or broadcast of the person's identity is
prohibited by a suppression or non-publication order of the District Court or by law,
(b) that the judgment remarks will contain material:
(i) that is subject to a suppression or non-publication order by the District Court or the
disclosure, publication or broadcast of which is otherwise prohibited by law, or
(ii) that is likely to be prejudicial to other criminal proceedings (including proceedings
for the same or a related criminal offence) or a current criminal investigation, or
(iii) that is likely to reveal the existence of a covert operation carried out by law
enforcement officials,
(c) that the broadcast of the judgment remarks would pose a significant risk to the safety and
security of any person in the courtroom or who has participated, or has otherwise been
involved, in the proceedings,
(d) that the Chief Judge of the District Court has directed that the judgment remarks not be
recorded or broadcast because, in the Chief Judge's opinion, the broadcast of the judgment
remarks would be detrimental to the orderly administration of the Court.
The presence of exclusionary ground (a), (b) or (c) will not be sufficient justification to refuse
permission unless the District Court is also satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable to
implement measures when recording or broadcasting the judgment remarks to prevent the
broadcast of any thing that gives rise to the exclusionary ground.
Proposed section 179 also makes it clear that nothing in the proposed section is intended to limit:
(a) the circumstances in which the District Court may decide to permit the recording or
broadcast of judgment remarks of the Court, or
(b) the persons (in addition to news media organisations) to whom the District Court may
decide to grant permission to record or broadcast judgment remarks of the Court.
Protections for accused persons, victims and their families
Proposed section 179 provides that images that identify any of the following persons must not be
recorded in connection with the recording or broadcast of judgment remarks of the District Court:
(a) the jurors in proceedings where the Court is sitting with a jury,
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Explanatory note
(b) an accused person or a victim in a criminal trial (or a member of the accused person's or
victim's immediate family),
(c) any other person belonging to a class of persons the recording of images of whom is
prohibited by regulations made by the Governor.
Proposed section 179 also enables the District Court to make orders (on application or of its own
motion) for the purpose of preventing the recording or broadcast of such images or the recording
or broadcast of any thing that gives rise to an exclusionary ground.
Rules of the District Court concerning recordings and broadcasts
Proposed section 179 enables the rules of the District Court to make provision for regulating the
manner in which recordings of judgment remarks of the Court for broadcasts permitted by the
Court are made, including:
(a) limiting the number and kinds of persons who may be involved in making such recordings
in the courtroom, and
(b) providing for measures to prevent the recording or broadcast of any thing that may give rise
to an exclusionary ground or prevent a contravention of the requirement for images of
certain persons not to be recorded, and
(c) providing for the shared use of recordings among broadcasters.
However, sections 161 and 171 of the District Court Act 1973 will operate to prevent the rules
from making provision for other matters in a manner that is inconsistent with proposed
section 179. For example, rules that create additional grounds of exclusion to those specified by
the proposed section, or that limit the application of those grounds, would be inconsistent with the
proposed section.
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52
Schedule 2 makes a corresponding amendment to the Supreme Court Act 1970 with respect to the
recording and broadcast of judgment remarks of the Supreme Court.
In addition to provisions that correspond to those to be inserted in the District Court Act 1973,
Schedule 2 also makes provision for the following matters in the new Part inserted in the Supreme
Court Act 1970 for the Supreme Court:
(a) the new Part also excludes proceedings in exercise of the parens patriae jurisdiction of the
Court or under the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006,
(b) the new Part extends to proceedings in the Court of Criminal Appeal as well as to
proceedings in the Supreme Court (which includes the Court of Appeal by virtue of
section 38 of the Supreme Court Act 1970).
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First print
New South Wales
Courts Legislation Amendment
(Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
Schedule 1 Amendment of District Court Act 1973 No 9 3
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 6
b2014-029-94.d11
New South Wales
Courts Legislation Amendment
(Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014
No , 2014
A Bill for
An Act to amend the District Court Act 1973 and Supreme Court Act 1970 to provide for a
presumption in favour of the recording and broadcast of certain judgments of the District Court
and Supreme Court given in open court.
Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Act 2014. 3
2 Commencement 4
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. 5
Page 2
Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 1 Amendment of District Court Act 1973 No 9
Schedule 1 Amendment of District Court Act 1973 No 9 1
Part 5 2
Insert after Part 4: 3
Part 5 Broadcast of judgments 4
177 Application of Part 5
(1) This Part applies to proceedings in the Court other than: 6
(a) proceedings that are held in closed court, or 7
(b) proceedings under the Bail Act 2013, or 8
(c) proceedings on an appeal under the Children (Criminal Proceedings) 9
Act 1987 or Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 10
1998, or 11
(d) proceedings under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000, or 12
(e) any other proceedings belonging to a class of proceedings that are 13
excluded from the application of this Part by regulations made under 14
subsection (2) (a). 15
Note. For examples of statutory provisions dealing with proceedings held in closed 16
court, see section 10 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 and 17
sections 291, 291A and 291B of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986. 18
(2) The Governor may make regulations that: 19
(a) exclude classes of proceedings in the Court from the application of this 20
Part, or 21
(b) prohibit the recording of images of classes of persons in connection 22
with the recording or broadcast of judgment remarks in proceedings to 23
which this Part applies. 24
178 Interpretation 25
In this Part: 26
broadcast means a live or delayed broadcast by means of radio, television or 27
the internet (including webcasts). 28
criminal trial means proceedings for the trial of an accused person for a 29
criminal offence. 30
judgment remarks of the Court means: 31
(a) in relation to a criminal trial--the delivery of the verdict, and any 32
remarks made by the Court when sentencing the accused person, that 33
are delivered or made in open court, and 34
(b) in relation to any other proceedings--any remarks made by the Court in 35
open court when announcing the judgment determining the 36
proceedings. 37
member of an accused person's or victim's immediate family means: 38
(a) the accused person's or victim's spouse, or 39
(b) the accused person's or victim's de facto partner, or 40
(c) a person to whom the accused person or victim is engaged to be married, 41
or 42
(d) a parent, grandparent, guardian or step-parent of the accused person or 43
victim, or 44
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 1 Amendment of District Court Act 1973 No 9
(e) a child, grandchild or step-child of the accused person or victim or some 1
other child for whom the accused person or victim is a guardian, or 2
(f) a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, step-brother or step-sister of 3
the accused person or victim. 4
Note. "De facto partner" is defined in section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987. 5
news media organisation means a commercial enterprise that engages in the 6
business of broadcasting or publishing news or a public broadcasting service 7
that engages in the dissemination of news through a public news medium. 8
recording means capturing audio or visual content, or both, for the purposes 9
of a broadcast. 10
relevant person, in relation to proceedings, means each of the following: 11
(a) the Minister, 12
(b) a party to the proceedings (including, in the case of a criminal trial or 13
other criminal proceedings, the accused person and the prosecution), 14
(c) a witness in the proceedings, 15
(d) a person seeking the Court's permission for the recording or broadcast 16
(or both) of judgment remarks of the Court that are made in the 17
proceedings. 18
the rules means the civil procedure rules or criminal procedure rules (or both). 19
victim, in relation to a criminal trial, means a person against whom the 20
criminal offence for which the trial is being conducted was alleged to have 21
been committed. 22
179 Presumption in favour of permitting recording and broadcast of judgment 23
remarks 24
(1) A person may apply to the Court in proceedings to which this Part applies for 25
the Court to permit the recording and broadcast of judgment remarks of the 26
Court that are made in those proceedings. 27
Note. Sections 9 and 9A of the Court Security Act 2005 prohibit the use of recording 28
devices in courts, and the transmission of court proceedings from a courtroom, except 29
in limited circumstances. One of those circumstances is when it has been expressly 30
permitted by a judicial officer. 31
(2) If such an application is made, the Court is to permit the recording of the 32
judgment remarks of the Court, and their broadcast by one or more news media 33
organisations (whether or not the organisations are also the applicants), unless 34
the Court is satisfied that: 35
(a) an exclusionary ground referred to in subsection (3) is present, and 36
(b) except in the case of the exclusionary ground referred to in 37
subsection (3) (d)--it is not reasonably practicable to implement 38
measures when recording or broadcasting the judgment remarks 39
(including by making an order under subsection (5)) to prevent the 40
broadcast of any thing that gives rise to the exclusionary ground. 41
(3) Each of the following is an exclusionary ground for the purposes of this 42
section with respect to judgment remarks of the Court in proceedings: 43
(a) that the broadcast of the judgment remarks would be likely to reveal the 44
identity of a person in circumstances where the disclosure, publication 45
or broadcast of the person's identity is prohibited by a suppression or 46
non-publication order of the Court or by law, 47
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 1 Amendment of District Court Act 1973 No 9
(b) that the judgment remarks will contain material: 1
(i) that is subject to a suppression or non-publication order by the 2
Court or the disclosure, publication or broadcast of which is 3
otherwise prohibited by law, or 4
(ii) that is likely to be prejudicial to other criminal proceedings 5
(including proceedings for the same or a related criminal offence) 6
or a current criminal investigation, or 7
(iii) that is likely to reveal the existence of a covert operation carried 8
out by law enforcement officials, 9
(c) that the broadcast of the judgment remarks would pose a significant risk 10
to the safety and security of any person in the courtroom or who has 11
participated, or has otherwise been involved, in the proceedings, 12
(d) that the Chief Judge has directed that the judgment remarks not be 13
recorded or broadcast because, in the Chief Judge's opinion, the 14
broadcast of the judgment remarks would be detrimental to the orderly 15
administration of the Court. 16
(4) Without limiting subsection (2) or section 68 of the Jury Act 1977, images that 17
identify any of the following persons must not be recorded in connection with 18
the recording or broadcast of judgment remarks of the Court made in 19
proceedings to which this Part applies: 20
(a) the jurors in proceedings where the Court is sitting with a jury, 21
(b) an accused person or a victim in a criminal trial (or a member of the 22
accused person's or victim's immediate family), 23
(c) any other person belonging to a class of persons the recording of images 24
of whom is prohibited by regulations made under section 177 (2) (b). 25
Note. Section 68 of the Jury Act 1977 makes it an offence for a person to wilfully 26
publish any material, broadcast any matter or otherwise disclose any information which 27
is likely to lead to the identification of a juror or former juror in a particular trial or inquest. 28
(5) The Court may, on the application of a relevant person in the proceedings or 29
of its own motion, make such orders as it thinks fit for the purpose of 30
preventing the recording or broadcast of any thing that gives rise to an 31
exclusionary ground or preventing a contravention of subsection (4). 32
(6) The rules may make provision for regulating the manner in which recordings 33
of judgment remarks of the Court for broadcasts permitted by the Court are 34
made, including: 35
(a) limiting the number and kinds of persons who may be involved in 36
making such recordings in the courtroom, and 37
(b) providing for measures to prevent the recording or broadcast of any 38
thing that may give rise to an exclusionary ground or prevent a 39
contravention of subsection (4), and 40
(c) providing for the shared use of recordings among broadcasters. 41
(7) Nothing in this section limits: 42
(a) the circumstances in which the Court may decide to permit the 43
recording or broadcast of judgment remarks of the Court, or 44
(b) the persons (in addition to news media organisations) to whom the 45
Court may, subject to rules made for the purposes of subsection (6) (a), 46
decide to grant permission to record or broadcast judgment remarks of 47
the Court. 48
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 1
Part 9A 2
Insert after Part 9: 3
Part 9A Broadcast of judgments 4
126 Application of Part 5
(1) This Part applies to proceedings in the Court other than: 6
(a) proceedings that are held in closed court, or 7
(b) proceedings in exercise of the parens patriae jurisdiction of the Court, or 8
(c) proceedings under the Bail Act 2013, or 9
(d) proceedings under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000, or 10
(e) proceedings under the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006, or 11
(f) any other proceedings belonging to a class of proceedings that are 12
excluded from the application of this Part by regulations made under 13
subsection (2) (a). 14
Note. For examples of statutory provisions dealing with proceedings held in closed 15
court, see section 119 of the Adoption Act 2000, section 10 of the Children (Criminal 16
Proceedings) Act 1987 and sections 291, 291A and 291B of the Criminal Procedure 17
Act 1986. 18
(2) The Governor may make regulations that: 19
(a) exclude classes of proceedings in the Court from the application of this 20
Part, or 21
(b) prohibit the recording of images of classes of persons in connection 22
with the recording or broadcast of judgment remarks in proceedings to 23
which this Part applies. 24
(3) The provisions of this Part extend to proceedings in the Court of Criminal 25
Appeal and, accordingly, any reference to the Court in this Part is to be read 26
as including a reference to the Court of Criminal Appeal. 27
127 Interpretation 28
In this Part: 29
broadcast means a live or delayed broadcast by means of radio, television or 30
the internet (including webcasts). 31
criminal trial means proceedings for the trial of an accused person for a 32
criminal offence. 33
judgment remarks of the Court means: 34
(a) in relation to a criminal trial--the delivery of the verdict, and any 35
remarks made by the Court when sentencing the accused person, that 36
are delivered or made in open court, and 37
(b) in relation to any other proceedings--any remarks made by the Court in 38
open court when announcing the judgment determining the 39
proceedings. 40
member of an accused person's or victim's immediate family means: 41
(a) the accused person's or victim's spouse, or 42
(b) the accused person's or victim's de facto partner, or 43
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52
(c) a person to whom the accused person or victim is engaged to be married, 1
or 2
(d) a parent, grandparent, guardian or step-parent of the accused person or 3
victim, or 4
(e) a child, grandchild or step-child of the accused person or victim or some 5
other child for whom the accused person or victim is a guardian, or 6
(f) a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, step-brother or step-sister of 7
the accused person or victim. 8
Note. "De facto partner" is defined in section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987. 9
news media organisation means a commercial enterprise that engages in the 10
business of broadcasting or publishing news or a public broadcasting service 11
that engages in the dissemination of news through a public news medium. 12
recording means capturing audio or visual content, or both, for the purposes 13
of a broadcast. 14
relevant person, in relation to proceedings, means each of the following: 15
(a) the Minister, 16
(b) a party to the proceedings (including, in the case of a criminal trial or 17
other criminal proceedings, the accused person and the prosecution), 18
(c) a witness in the proceedings, 19
(d) a person seeking the Court's permission for the recording or broadcast 20
(or both) of judgment remarks of the Court that are made in the 21
proceedings. 22
victim, in relation to a criminal trial, means a person against whom the 23
criminal offence for which the trial is being conducted was alleged to have 24
been committed. 25
128 Presumption in favour of permitting recording and broadcast of judgment 26
remarks 27
(1) A person may apply to the Court in proceedings to which this Part applies for 28
the Court to permit the recording and broadcast of judgment remarks of the 29
Court that are made in those proceedings. 30
Note. Sections 9 and 9A of the Court Security Act 2005 prohibit the use of recording 31
devices in courts, and the transmission of court proceedings from a courtroom, except 32
in limited circumstances. One of those circumstances is when it has been expressly 33
permitted by a judicial officer. 34
(2) If such an application is made, the Court is to permit the recording of the 35
judgment remarks of the Court, and their broadcast by one or more news media 36
organisations (whether or not the organisations are also the applicants), unless 37
the Court is satisfied that: 38
(a) an exclusionary ground referred to in subsection (3) is present, and 39
(b) except in the case of the exclusionary ground referred to in 40
subsection (3) (d)--it is not reasonably practicable to implement 41
measures when recording or broadcasting the judgment remarks 42
(including by making an order under subsection (5)) to prevent the 43
broadcast of any thing that gives rise to the exclusionary ground. 44
(3) Each of the following is an exclusionary ground for the purposes of this 45
section with respect to judgment remarks of the Court in proceedings: 46
(a) that the broadcast of the judgment remarks would be likely to reveal the 47
identity of a person in circumstances where the disclosure, publication 48
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52
or broadcast of the person's identity is prohibited by a suppression or 1
non-publication order of the Court or by law, 2
(b) that the judgment remarks will contain material: 3
(i) that is subject to a suppression or non-publication order by the 4
Court or the disclosure, publication or broadcast of which is 5
otherwise prohibited by law, or 6
(ii) that is likely to be prejudicial to other criminal proceedings 7
(including proceedings for the same or a related criminal offence) 8
or a current criminal investigation, or 9
(iii) that is likely to reveal the existence of a covert operation carried 10
out by law enforcement officials, 11
(c) that the broadcast of the judgment remarks would pose a significant risk 12
to the safety and security of any person in the courtroom or who has 13
participated, or has otherwise been involved, in the proceedings, 14
(d) that the Chief Justice has directed that the judgment remarks not be 15
recorded or broadcast because, in the Chief Justice's opinion, the 16
broadcast of the judgment remarks would be detrimental to the orderly 17
administration of the Court. 18
(4) Without limiting subsection (2) or section 68 of the Jury Act 1977, images that 19
identify any of the following persons must not be recorded in connection with 20
the recording or broadcast of judgment remarks of the Court made in 21
proceedings to which this Part applies: 22
(a) the jurors in proceedings where the Court is sitting with a jury, 23
(b) an accused person or a victim in a criminal trial (or a member of the 24
accused person's or victim's immediate family), 25
(c) any other person belonging to a class of persons the recording of images 26
of whom is prohibited by regulations made under section 126 (2) (b). 27
Note. Section 68 of the Jury Act 1977 makes it an offence for a person to wilfully 28
publish any material, broadcast any matter or otherwise disclose any information which 29
is likely to lead to the identification of a juror or former juror in a particular trial or inquest. 30
(5) The Court may, on the application of a relevant person in the proceedings or 31
of its own motion, make such orders as it thinks fit for the purpose of 32
preventing the recording or broadcast of any thing that gives rise to an 33
exclusionary ground or preventing a contravention of subsection (4). 34
(6) The rules may make provision for regulating the manner in which recordings 35
of judgment remarks of the Court for broadcasts permitted by the Court are 36
made, including: 37
(a) limiting the number and kinds of persons who may be involved in 38
making such recordings in the courtroom, and 39
(b) providing for measures to prevent the recording or broadcast of any 40
thing that may give rise to an exclusionary ground or prevent a 41
contravention of subsection (4), and 42
(c) providing for the shared use of recordings among broadcasters. 43
(7) Nothing in this section limits: 44
(a) the circumstances in which the Court may decide to permit the 45
recording or broadcast of judgment remarks of the Court, or 46
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Courts Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Judgments) Bill 2014 [NSW]
Schedule 2 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52
(b) the persons (in addition to news media organisations) to whom the 1
Court may, subject to rules made for the purposes of subsection (6) (a), 2
decide to grant permission to record or broadcast judgment remarks of 3
the Court. 4
Page 9
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