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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.
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13 provisions
Title and introductory text
2023 No. 1124
Senior Courts Of England And Wales
County Court, England And Wales
Magistrates’ Courts, England And Wales
Family Court, England And Wales
Tribunals And Inquiries
The Courts (Prescribed Recordings) Order 2023
Made
23rd October 2023
Coming into force
24th October 2023
The Lord Chancellor makes the following Order, with the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 32(1) of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
In accordance with section 58(4) of that Act, a draft of this Order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Propose a change1 Citation and commencement
This Order may be cited as the Courts (Prescribed Recordings) Order 2023 and comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made.
Propose a change2 Interpretation
In this Order—
“court” includes a tribunal;
“Custody Officers” means prison officers escorting prisoners to and from the court;
“recording” means a visual or sound recording on any medium from which a single image, a moving image or any sound may be produced or reproduced, or the making of any such recording; and “recorded” is to be construed accordingly;
“security alert” means an unexpected incident which is—
identified as a security alert in an announcement or communication directed to the person operating the bodyworn camera by that person’s superior or a person responsible for the security of the building;
an incident which the person operating the bodyworn camera considers likely to interfere with the operation of any court and other activities in the building and its precincts or threaten the safety and security of the building or any person in the building and its precincts; or
an incident where the police are called, or the police officer operating the bodyworn camera, or that officer’s superior, considers a police response to be necessary.
Propose a change3 Prescribed recordings
This Order, except for article 12, applies to recordings made by CCTV or bodyworn cameras in court buildings or their precincts, and to recordings made in court buildings at ceremonies to mark the making of an adoption order.
Propose a change4 Disapplication of section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981
Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 do not apply where recordings are made or used in accordance with—
(a) for recordings made by CCTV, the conditions in articles 5, 6 and 10;
(b) for recordings made by bodyworn cameras, the conditions in articles 7 to 10; or
(c) for recordings at a ceremony to mark the making of an adoption order, the conditions in article 11.
Propose a change5 Recording – CCTV
Recording is—
(a) with the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice;
(b) by cameras located in accordance with that agreement in areas, other than courtrooms, to which the public have access;
(c) for the purposes of maintaining public order and the protection and safety of the judiciary, court staff, parties, legal representatives and others involved in proceedings and the public; and
(d) undertaken consistently with any current Code of Practice or replacement Code issued under section 30 or 31 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
Propose a change6 Recording – CCTV: authorisation
Recording is by a person who—
(a) is permitted in writing by the Lord Chancellor to record via CCTV in that building and its precincts for the purposes of maintaining public order and the protection and safety of the judiciary, court staff, parties, legal representatives and others involved in proceedings and the public; and
(b) agrees to make any such recording available for the purposes of any criminal investigation or court proceedings to which it may be relevant.
Propose a change7 Recording – bodyworn cameras
Recording is—
(a) in accordance with permission granted by the Lord Chief Justice;
(b) overt and by a visible bodyworn camera;
(c) for the purposes of maintaining public order and the protection and safety of the judiciary, court staff, parties, legal representatives and others involved in proceedings and the public;
(d) undertaken consistently with any Code of Practice or replacement Code issued under section 30 or 31 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012; and
(e) not prohibited in the court building concerned, at the time the recording is made, by a direction given by the leadership judge for that centre.
Propose a change8 Recording – bodyworn cameras: authorisation
Recording is by a person who—
(a) is permitted in writing by the Lord Chancellor to record via bodyworn camera in that building and its precincts for the purposes of maintaining public order and the protection and safety of the judiciary, court staff, parties, legal representatives and others involved in proceedings and the public; and
(b) agrees to make any such recording available for the purposes of any criminal investigation or court proceedings to which it may be relevant.
Propose a change9 Recording – bodyworn cameras: further conditions
(1) Recording is by a person to whom paragraph (2) or (3) applies, and subject to the restrictions applicable to recording by such a person by virtue of paragraphs (4) and (5).
(2) This paragraph applies to—
(a) Custody Officers;
(b) uniformed police officers.
(3) This paragraph applies to court and tribunal security staff.
(4) Recording by a person to whom paragraph (2) applies is—
(a) in one of the following areas of the building or its precincts—
(i) holding cells;
(ii) custody suites;
(iii) vehicle dock areas;
(iv) courtrooms (including dock areas);
(v) any area outside the building but within its precincts; and
(b) either—
(i) by a bodyworn camera which is switched on in response to a security alert, and only for as long as the security alert continues; or
(ii) by a bodyworn camera which is switched on in response to the escape, or report of the escape, of a prisoner, and only while in search or pursuit of that prisoner.
(5) Recording by a person to whom paragraph (3) applies is—
(a) in one of the following areas of the building or its precincts—
(i) courtrooms (including dock areas);
(ii) areas within the building, other than courtrooms, to which the public have access;
(iii) areas within the building to which the public do not have access but to which court staff or members of the judiciary have access;
(iv) any area outside the building but within its precincts; and
(b) by a bodyworn camera which is switched on in response to a security alert, and only for as long as the security alert continues.
Propose a change10 Recordings – CCTV and bodyworn cameras: conditions of use
Any recording is—
(a) used only—
(i) for the purposes of maintaining public order and the protection and safety of the judiciary, court staff, parties, legal representatives and others involved in proceedings and the public;
(ii) for investigating whether there has been any criminal offence or breach of statutory duty; or
(iii) in any court proceedings to which it may be relevant;
(b) used and stored consistently with any Code of Practice or replacement Code issued under section 30 or 31 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
Propose a change11 Recordings at a ceremony to mark the making of an adoption order
Recording is—
(a) by way of still photography;
(b) of a ceremony held by a court which has made an adoption order, to mark the making of the order;
(c) undertaken after the conclusion of the proceedings in which the adoption order is made; and
(d) authorised by the court and undertaken in accordance with the court’s instructions.
Propose a change12 Amendment of the Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020
In article 2 of the Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020, in the definition of “judge”, after paragraph (a) insert—
(aa) an ex-officio or ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal within the meaning of section 2 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, or a Lord Justice of Appeal (England and Wales) (sitting in retirement);
.
Propose a change