Guidelines for audio-recording of court proceedings
by media representatives
In order to assist journalists in the accurate, informed and balanced reporting of the Court's activities, the following guidelines have been issued by the Chief Magistrate to regulate the in-Court audio recording of certain Court proceedings by members of the media:
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Notwithstanding the content of these guidelines, the presiding Magistrate in each case has an overriding discretion to prohibit audio recording of any Court proceedings.
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Subject to paragraph 1, journalists are permitted to audio record only the following parts of Court proceedings:
Magistrates' findings and reasons for decision
Magistrates' comments on passing sentence.
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Audio recording of proceedings is for reference purposes only, and shall not be used for broadcast purposes.
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Audio recording is only permitted on hand-held micro-cassette recorders to be provided by the individual journalist.
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Journalists must inform the Magistrate's clerk of their intention to audio-record any part of the proceedings. They may approach the Magistrate's clerk at his or her desk in a discreet manner for that purpose.
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In any Court with poor acoustic qualities, the journalist may request the Magistrate's clerk to position the micro-cassette recorder on the clerk's desk provided that it does not interfere with the clerk's work. The journalist will be responsible for activating the 'record' button on the recorder at the time of delivery to the clerk. Repeated approaches to the clerk's desk to check on tape length and recorder functioning is not desirable.
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Audio recordings shall not be misused in any manner. Copies of audio recordings shall not be supplied to any person outside the journalist's own media organisation.
These Guidelines are subject to review by the Chief Magistrate, and may be altered at any time.