On the 1st February 2024 the UK Courts and Tribunals Judiciary published these directions for video access
Before:
President Of The King’s Bench Division and Mr Justice Johnson
Between:
Julian Paul Assange
-v-
Government Of The United States Of America
-v-
Secretary Of State For The Home Department
(Interested Party)
Order
UPON the appellant’s renewed application for permission to appeal being listed on 20 and 21 February 2024
AND UPON the court receiving requests to attend the hearing by video link, and anticipating that further requests will be received before the hearing
It is ordered that:
- If the parties wish to make any representations about the way in which the court should treat requests to attend the hearing made under paragraph 3 below, those representations must be filed with the court by 4pm on 9 February 2024.
- Any person may, with the written permission of an employee of HMCTS (which shall only be granted after approval by the court), observe the proceedings by way of an audio-visual link.
- Any person seeking such written permission shall send the request to listoffice@administrativecourtoffice.justice.gov.uk by 4pm on 15 February 2024.
- Any person (“the applicant”) seeking permission under paragraph 3 above, shall include in their request:
(a) the full name of the applicant;
(b) the email address of the applicant;
(c) information as to whether the applicant would be located within the jurisdiction of England and Wales at all times when attending the Hearing remotely (if a transmission direction were to be made); and, if not, details of the applicant’s location;
(d) any information the applicant wishes to provide in support of the request, including in particular any reason(s) why it is contended that making such a direction would be in the interests of justice; and
(e) a statement by the applicant in the following terms:
“I agree and undertake to the Court that, if permitted to attend the Hearing remotely, I will not make a recording, capture images, and/or broadcast any part of the proceedings. I understand that to do so may be an offence and/or contempt of court, punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine. I will abide by any directions given to me by the Court during the Hearing. I agree and undertake to the Court that I will not provide the link that I am given to access the Hearing to any other person.” - A request for permission that is not made by the deadline imposed by this Order and/or does not comply with paragraph 4 of this Order may be refused.
- All those who are provided with a link t observe the proceedings shall be provided with a copy of this order.
- Each such observer shall ensure that nobody else is able to hear or view the proceedings via the link unless that person has first identified themselves to the court and has been provided with permission by the court to view the link.
- Each observer may only access the link from within the United Kingdom unless the observer has been given permission, in writing, by a member of HMCTS staff to observe the proceedings from outside the United Kingdom (in which case they may only access the link from that location).
- Each observer shall, as a condition of continued access:
(a) keep their camera turned off, and ensure that they are muted (unless instructed otherwise)
(b) conduct themselves appropriately and in particular in accordance with any instructions of the judges and/or court staff for persons observing the proceedings (remembering that they will be treated as if they were physically present in the courtroom). - Transmission via the link is dependent on the link being activated at least 5 minutes before the proceedings start, so that information may be provided by the court staff before proceedings start.
- This direction may be varied or revoked at any time and without notice by further direction of the court.
- Any party who wishes to vary or set aside this direction may do so on written application.
- Costs in the case.
Important note: See the attached rules for those who observe proceedings remotely. If you do not obey the rules then that might amount to a criminal offence or a contempt of court which may be punished by imprisonment.
GDPR: Your personal data will be processed for the purposes of facilitating your attendance at the hearing, ensuring that the proceedings are conducted without disruption, and enforcing the applicable laws and directions, including those requiring orderly behaviour during proceedings, prohibiting live text-based communication from court, and the making of audio-visual recordings. They will not be used for any other purposes, and will not be kept on file for longer than is necessary for those purposes.
Reasons:
(A) The Court anticipates that there is likely to be interest from media representatives and members of the public in attending remotely the hearing that is due to commence for 2 days on 20-21 February 2024. To manage the process, we have set out a procedure whereby anyone who wishes to attend the hearing remotely can make a transmission direction request.
(B) The court will not normally grant a transmission direction request in respect of an applicant who will not be in England and Wales during the Hearing. Anyone making a transmission direction request who will not be in England and Wales should provide information (pursuant to paragraph 4(d) above) as to why it would nevertheless be in the interests of justice to make a transmission direction order in his/her case.
(C) Late requests, because they cause disruption to the Court’s work are likely to be refused, unless there are compelling reasons why the applicant was unable to comply with the Court’s directions.
Dated this 1st day of February 2024
Rules for third-party observers (public hearing)
You are being given remote access to a public court hearing. The judiciary and court service are committed to open justice. This is subject to five simple rules to protect the court process.
- Do not share your link without permission. The link must only be used by someone else if that has been approved by the court.
- Behave respectfully. A court hearing is a serious matter. Behave as if you were in a physical court room. Do not disturb or interrupt. Follow any instructions of the judge. Your access may be terminated if you do not.
- Do not record the hearing. It is a criminal offence to record a court hearing. You must not record video or audio or take photos or screenshots of the hearing.
- If you want to report, take care. You can report live in writing if you are a journalist or you have the specific permission of the Judge conducting the hearing. Otherwise, reports must be after the event. In all cases there may be reporting restrictions which you must obey. It is your responsibility to find out whether restrictions apply.
- Take all these rules seriously. If you break them you might not just lose your access. You might be guilty of an offence or contempt of court for which you could be fined or sent to prison for up to 2 years.
To make sure these rules are followed we advise you to
• find somewhere private to join the hearing
• turn off your microphone and camera
• switch off any other device, unless you have permission to use it
• check whether reporting restrictions apply
Reference original article at judiciary.uk