Observing Justice: Digital Transparency, Openness and Accountability in Criminal Courts

Through a socio-legal lens, this book examines how major but often under-scrutinised legal, cultural, and technological developments have affected the transparency and accountability of the criminal justice process in England and Wales. Drawing on a wide range of empirical and evaluative studies, as well as their own research experiences, the authors explore key legal policy issues such as equality of access, remote and virtual courts, justice system data management, and the roles of public and media observers.The book offers a practical and policy-relevant discussion on the implications of recent technological changes for access to justice, individuals’ privacy and social stigmatisation, and public rights to information. The authors contend that there has been a noticeable detachment between the legal principle of open justice and the reality for those experiencing the courts day to day. Motivated by their concerns with the design and application of open justice policy, especially in the Magistrates’ courts, the book encourages law and policy makers to take a deeper and more pragmatic look at how rules impact court users and the public’s ability to access information from courts and tribunals. As well as exposing the practical challenges, the book identifies ideological tensions arising from the realisation of open criminal justice. It offers recommendations for implementing a more nuanced and evidence-based approach to open justice that looks beyond the news media for justice system accountability. Such an approach emphasises public legal education and access to justice, as well as effective scrutiny of the criminal justice system.

2023