The current laws as they stand, pursuant to Section 4 of the Open Courts Act 2013 (‘Open Courts Act’), support the presumption of open justice and the disclosure of information in our legal system. However a court can make an order that restricts or prohibits the disclosure of information before a court or tribunal pursuant to Section 17 of the Open Courts Act.
More recently however, there exists a recent legislative amendment contained in the Open Courts and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2019 in relation to suppression and closed court orders.
These new amendments consequently mean that these types of orders can only be used in circumstances that are deemed necessary such as if there is a substantial risk to applying justice, if there will be undue stress to victims or there is a risk to the safety of any person.
In the event a suppression order is made courts will provide
- their reasons for the order
- the duration of the order
- the range of information the order will cover
In relation to youth and their convictions the changes to the current laws mean that the County and Supreme Court will have the discretion available to them to publish a young persons convictions in some circumstances.
