Court Kit: Offline Court Reporting Reference | UK JournoHub

Works offline in court

Open this page (and the guides it links) once while you have signal, and UK JournoHub will keep the core Court Kit pages available offline — useful in courtrooms with no reception. On a phone you can also “Add to Home Screen” to install UK JournoHub as an app.

The reference text below reads offline as a plain page. The interactive tools need a connection the first time you load them.

Not legal advice. This is a quick reference. Always check the exact terms of any order in your specific case and take specialist legal advice on high-risk stories. See disclaimer.

“Can I name them?” at a glance

Who	Name?	Why
Adult defendant, charged	Usually yes	Open justice once charged; check for a specific s.4(2) postponement or s.11 order first.
Youth in the Youth Court	No	Automatic anonymity for under-18s concerned in Youth Court proceedings (CYPA 1933 s.49).
Youth in an adult court	Depends	No automatic bar; the court may make a discretionary s.45 YJCEA 1999 order.
Complainant in a sexual offence	No	Automatic lifetime anonymity from the moment of allegation (SOA(A) 1992 s.1).
Victim (non-sexual, e.g. homicide)	Usually yes	No statutory bar; weigh Article 8 privacy and follow family-liaison practice.
Witness (adult)	Usually yes	No automatic restriction; special measures protect giving evidence, not identity.
Juror	No	Naming jurors or reporting deliberations is a statutory offence and a contempt.
Teacher accused by a pupil	No, pre-charge	Automatic anonymity from allegation until charged (Education Act 2011 s.13).

For a full, order-aware verdict use the Can I Name Them? decision engine (needs a connection the first time).

Key statutes to hand

“Subject to this section a person is not guilty of contempt of court under the strict liability rule in respect of a fair and accurate report of legal proceedings held in public, published contemporaneously and in good faith.”

Contempt of Court Act 1981, s.4 — Contemporary reports of proceedingslegislation.gov.ukE+W+S+NI

“In any case where a court (having power to do so) allows a name or other matter to be withheld from the public in proceedings before the court, the court may give such directions prohibiting the publication of that name or matter in connection with the proceedings as appear to the court to be necessary for the purpose for which it was so withheld.”

Contempt of Court Act 1981, s.11 — Publication of matters exempted from disclosure in courtlegislation.gov.ukE+W+S+NI

“This section applies (subject to subsection (2)) in relation to—”

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, s.45 — Power to restrict reporting of criminal proceedings involving persons under 18legislation.gov.ukE+W+NI

“Where an allegation has been made that an offence to which this Act applies has been committed against a person, no matter relating to that person shall during that person's lifetime be included in any publication if it is likely to lead members of the public to identify that person as the person against whom the offence is alleged to have been committed.”

Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, s.1 — Anonymity of victims of certain offenceslegislation.gov.ukE+W+S+NI

Contempt basics

1The strict-liability rule (CCA 1981) can apply once proceedings are ACTIVE. Criminal proceedings become active on arrest, the issue of a warrant or summons, or charge — often before charge.
2Once active, avoid anything that creates a substantial risk of serious prejudice to a fair trial: previous convictions, confessions, disputed identification, or assertions of guilt.
3Fair, accurate and contemporaneous reports of public proceedings carry protection under CCA 1981 s.4(1) — but a s.4(2) order can postpone reporting to avoid prejudice to linked cases.
4A s.11 order allows a name or matter withheld in court to be withheld from publication. Read the exact wording of any order before you publish.

Work out the exact moment proceedings became active with the Active Proceedings Calculator.