Embargoed until 2pm Monday 16 November 2009
Media Release Rt Hon Geoffrey Palmer SC, President, Law Commission
Release of Law Commission Report: Suppressing Names and Evidence The Law Commission’s Report 109, Suppressing Names and
Evidence, was tabled in Parliament today.
“Criminal cases in our courts must be open to public scrutiny,” says President of the Law Commission Sir Geoffrey
Palmer.
“As far as possible, the public should be able to attend court, and the media should be able to report what happens in
the court room.
But sometimes doing justice in public poses risks to justice itself. The law must also protect the administration of
justice, and the right to a fair trial. There may be special circumstances that justify suppressing information about a
court case.” “Balancing these competing demands is not easy. Our aim is to make sure that the threshold for suppression
remains high. Names or evidence should only be suppressed in exceptional cases and for compelling reasons.
The grounds on which suppression may be granted need to be clarified and tightened.
They should be transparent, explicit and consistently applied.” “The most significant change the Law Commission
recommends is in the area of name suppression,” says Sir Geoffrey. The courts currently have a broad discretion to
prohibit publication of names or identifying particulars of people accused or convicted of crimes.
“We recommend instead that there should be a clearer test for name suppression, with specified grounds set out in
legislation,” says Sir Geoffrey.
“Reasons must be given for the grant or refusal of an order. We also recommend that the procedure for granting temporary
name suppression orders should be tightened up.
A temporary order made at a defendant’s first appearance should only be renewed if evidence supporting the grounds for
the order is produced. The judge should specifically state the expiry date of any temporary order.” A summary of the key
recommendations contained in the report is attached.
ENDS