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Remote Observation of Court Hearings

Courts in England and Wales can now transmit hearings to journalists watching from their desks. This guide covers the section 85A framework, how to request a link from the court, what the judge weighs before saying yes — and why pressing record is a criminal offence.

Last reviewed: Next review due:

Jurisdiction note: This guide covers the courts of England and Wales and HMCTS-administered tribunals. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate court systems and their own remote-access arrangements. See our Scotland media law guide and Northern Ireland media law guide.

What the law now allows

Remote observation of hearings began as an emergency measure: temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 let courts transmit proceedings while courtrooms were closed to the public. The permanent replacement arrived on 28 June 2022. Section 85A of the Courts Act 2003 — "Remote observation and recording of proceedings by direction of a court or tribunal", inserted by section 198(1) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 — now gives courts and tribunals a standing power to direct that images or sounds of their proceedings be transmitted electronically to people who are not in the courtroom.

Section 85A(3) allows transmission to two kinds of destination: premises designated by the Lord Chancellor as live-streaming premises — an overflow arrangement used for high-profile cases — and, far more commonly for working reporters, transmission to which individuals are given access only having first identified themselves to the court. The direction can specify who may watch or listen and on what conditions. In practice this second route is how an accredited journalist gets a video or audio link to a hearing they cannot attend in person.

Two things follow from the design. First, there is no right to remote observation: it exists only where the court makes a direction, and the decision is judicial, not administrative. Second, the power comes bundled with a criminal offence — section 85B — aimed squarely at anyone who records or retransmits what they are shown. The deal is access in exchange for behaving exactly as you would in the public gallery.

The 2022 Regulations: who may observe, and what the court weighs

Section 85A operates within the Remote Observation and Recording (Courts and Tribunals) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/705), in force from 28 June 2022. They set the boundaries of the power and the checklist every judge must work through.

Which hearings qualify (reg 2)
Proceedings held in public — and proceedings the general public cannot attend but which specified categories of person are entitled to observe, such as accredited journalists in the youth court. Fully private hearings are outside the scheme.
Preconditions (reg 3)
The court must be satisfied that a direction would be in the interests of justice, and that there is capacity and technological capability to give effect to it without an unreasonable administrative burden.
Mandatory factors (reg 4)
The court must take into account, among other things: the need for the administration of justice to be open and transparent; the timing of the request; available resources; any legal restrictions on who may attend; issues raised by observers outside the UK; and the likely effect on evidence quality, public understanding, media scrutiny, and the safety and privacy of participants.
Identification (reg 5)
A direction giving individuals access must require observers to identify themselves — full name and email address — and to behave appropriately while watching. For selectively open hearings, the direction must prohibit access by anyone not entitled to be present.

Note what the factors mean for you as a requester: open justice and media scrutiny are expressly on the list in your favour, but so are timing and administrative burden. A request made days ahead, with your full name, email, accreditation, and the case details, gives the court every reason to say yes. A request made ten minutes before the hearing gives it an easy reason to say no.

How judges approach it: the Practice Guidance

In June 2022 the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, and the Senior President of Tribunals, Sir Keith Lindblom, issued joint Practice Guidance on remote observation to help judges apply the new law. It is worth reading in full before you argue for access, because it leans towards letting reporters in.

  • Reporters are expected beneficiaries: The guidance says access for reporters, legal commentators, and academics is likely to serve the open justice purposes of the power, and that courts should assume remote access for observers is desirable where they would in principle be entitled to sit in the courtroom.
  • A judicial decision: Whether to grant a link is a decision for the judge, magistrates, or tribunal panel in each case — not for court staff. If a listing office refuses you out of hand, ask politely for the request to be put before the judge.
  • Standing arrangements are contemplated: The guidance envisages courts establishing standing access arrangements for those who regularly report on their proceedings — worth proposing if you cover the same court list every week.
  • Identification is the default: Observers identify themselves with their full name and email address before access, unless the court expressly dispenses with the requirement and identifies them by other means.
  • Warnings about recording: Courts are expected to warn remote observers that they must not record or transmit the proceedings, and the guidance spells out that unauthorised recording is both a summary offence and punishable as contempt — for which it notes the maximum is two years’ imprisonment.

Requesting access in practice

The mechanics are straightforward, and both the gov.uk guidance for observers and the HMCTS media guidance describe the same route: contact the court or tribunal in advance and provide your full name and email address.

1. Find the case and the court
Identify the hearing from the court list. Get the case name, case number if you have it, hearing date and time, and the courtroom. Court contact details are on the find-a-court-or-tribunal service on gov.uk.
2. Email the court in advance
Email the court office (for Crown Court cases, the listing office) as early as you can. Give your full name and email address, identify yourself as an accredited journalist and name your outlet, state the case and hearing, and ask for a direction permitting you to observe remotely.
3. Attach accreditation evidence
For open hearings your name and email are the legal minimum, but attaching your UK Press Card removes doubt. For hearings the public cannot attend — the youth court, some family proceedings — HMCTS guidance says you should provide evidence of your accredited status.
4. The judge decides
The request goes to the judge, magistrates, or panel, who decide case by case within the Regulations. Decisions can come late — chase the court office on the morning of the hearing if you have heard nothing.
5. Receive and guard the link
If granted, the court emails a video link — typically HMCTS’s Cloud Video Platform (CVP) or Video Hearings service — or telephone dial-in details. The link is for you, on the conditions of the direction: do not forward it to colleagues or post it anywhere.
6. Join early, on mute
Join ten minutes before the listing with your camera and microphone off unless the court directs otherwise, and with your display name matching the name you gave the court so the clerk can admit you.

HMCTS publishes joining instructions for CVP hearings on gov.uk, including browser requirements and how to test your connection — linked in the primary sources below. If your newsroom network is locked down, check the firewall guidance before the morning of the hearing, not during it.

The recording rules: three overlapping offences

Nothing about watching remotely relaxes the ban on recording court proceedings. Three separate provisions apply, and a remote observer can fall foul of all of them from their own desk.

  • Section 85B Courts Act 2003: The offence written for remote observation, inserted by s.199 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. It is an offence to make, or attempt to make, an unauthorised recording of images or sounds transmitted under a s.85A direction, or an unauthorised transmission of them to anyone else. It also covers recording or transmitting images or sounds of a person remotely attending proceedings. Penalty: a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000) on summary conviction — or the same conduct can be punished as contempt of court instead, but not both.
  • Section 41 Criminal Justice Act 1925: The long-standing ban on photography in court: taking or attempting to take any photograph, or making a sketch or portrait with a view to publication, of a judge, juror, witness, or party — in the courtroom, the court building, or its precincts, including people entering or leaving. Publishing such an image is a further offence. Penalty: a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale. A subsection added in 2022 exempts things done in accordance with a s.85A direction — which protects the court’s own transmission, not your screenshots.
  • Section 9 Contempt of Court Act 1981: It is contempt to use, or bring into court for use, a sound recorder without the court’s leave, and a further contempt to play a recording of proceedings to the public or publish it. The court can order the device and recordings forfeited. A subsection added in 2022 (s.9(4A)) carves out transmissions authorised under s.85A — again protecting the official feed, not an observer’s capture of it.

The HMCTS media guidance compresses all this into one sentence for remote observers: no photographs, no audio or video recording of any part of the proceedings, and no transmitting them to anyone else — on pain of a £1,000 fine or a finding of contempt. Treat screen-recording software, phone cameras pointed at the monitor, and "just grabbing a clip for the newsdesk" as identical to standing up in court with a camcorder. For the courtroom photography rules generally, see our court photography restrictions guide.

Working a remote hearing well

  • Ask early, and ask for the judge. Requests are decided judicially, and timing is a regulation 4 factor — a same-day request is the easiest to refuse. If staff push back, ask for the request to be placed before the judge.
  • Propose a standing arrangement if you cover a court regularly. The Practice Guidance contemplates standing access arrangements for those who routinely report proceedings — one email can replace fifty.
  • Check reporting restrictions as if you were in the room. Orders under s.4(2) or s.11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, youth anonymity provisions, and sexual offence anonymity all bind you equally on a video link. Ask the clerk or legal adviser what orders are in force before you file.
  • Take a full contemporaneous note. You cannot record, so your shorthand or typed note is your only record — and a solid contemporaneous note underpins the absolute privilege under s.14 of the Defamation Act 1996 for fair and accurate reports of court proceedings published contemporaneously.
  • Keep your identity consistent. Join with the display name you gave the court; an unrecognised name may simply not be admitted, and lurking under a different identity undermines the basis on which access was granted.
  • Stay muted, camera off, and behave as in the public gallery. The direction can attach conduct conditions, and the court can eject a remote observer as easily as clearing a gallery — more easily.
  • Do not share the link, even internally. Access was granted to identified individuals. A colleague who needs to watch should make their own request with their own name and email.
  • If the link fails, tell the court and follow up. Technology drops. Email the clerk immediately; if you missed a chunk of the hearing, ask what was said or request the relevant transcript rather than guessing in copy.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Screenshotting or screen-recording "just for reference". That is the s.85B offence — an unauthorised recording of the transmission — and it does not require publication. Making the recording is enough.
  • Forwarding the CVP link to a colleague or fixer. Access is personal to the identified observer, and directions can prohibit anyone else watching. Unauthorised transmission of the feed is itself an offence.
  • Assuming remote observation equals a public broadcast. It does not — this is private transmission to identified individuals, wholly distinct from the authorised broadcast of Crown Court sentencing remarks.
  • Treating a refusal as an open justice outrage before checking the basics. The court must weigh capacity, technology, and administrative burden; a refusal because the courtroom kit cannot support a link that morning is lawful. Renew the request for the next hearing instead.
  • Missing reporting restrictions because nobody read them out to you. Restrictions bind remote observers identically; verify what orders are in force before publishing, just as you would in person.
  • Expecting to observe a Single Justice Procedure case remotely. SJP cases have no hearing at all — there is nothing to transmit. Scrutiny there runs through the lists and case papers instead.

For the wider framework, see our reporting restrictions overview and contempt in active proceedings guide.

Primary sources

Frequently asked questions

Can journalists watch court hearings remotely?
Yes, where the court permits it. Since 28 June 2022, section 85A of the Courts Act 2003 (inserted by section 198(1) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022) has let courts and tribunals direct that images and sounds of a hearing be transmitted electronically — either to premises designated by the Lord Chancellor as live-streaming premises, or to individuals who have identified themselves to the court in advance. It is a discretionary judicial decision in each case, made within the framework of the Remote Observation and Recording (Courts and Tribunals) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/705). There is no right to a remote link: if the court declines, your option is to attend in person.
How do I request remote access to a hearing?
Contact the court or tribunal in advance and provide your full name and email address — that identification step is built into the legal framework, not just administrative practice. Identify yourself as an accredited journalist and say which case and hearing you want to observe. For hearings the public cannot attend, such as youth court proceedings, HMCTS guidance says journalists should also provide evidence of their accredited status — in practice a UK Press Card. If the judge agrees, the court emails you a video link, typically for HMCTS's Cloud Video Platform (CVP) or Video Hearings service, or dial-in details for an audio link.
Is it illegal to record a hearing I am observing remotely?
Yes — it is a criminal offence. Section 85B of the Courts Act 2003 (inserted by section 199 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022) makes it an offence to make, or attempt to make, an unauthorised recording of a transmitted hearing, or an unauthorised transmission of it to anyone else. On summary conviction the penalty is a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000), and the same conduct can instead be dealt with as contempt of court — though not both for the same act. Screenshots, screen recordings, audio captures, and restreaming the feed are all caught. Take notes instead.
What does the judge consider before allowing remote observation?
Under the 2022 Regulations, the court must first be satisfied that a direction would be in the interests of justice and that there is capacity and technological capability to give effect to it without an unreasonable administrative burden. It must then take into account the factors in regulation 4, which include the need for the administration of justice to be open and transparent, the timing of the request, available resources, any statutory restrictions on who may attend, issues arising from observers outside the United Kingdom, and the likely effect on the quality of evidence, public understanding, media scrutiny, and the safety and privacy of participants.
Can I observe a hearing remotely from outside the UK?
It is possible but sits less comfortably with the framework. Whether observers are outside the United Kingdom is one of the factors the court must weigh under regulation 4 of the 2022 Regulations before making a direction, because enforcing the recording prohibition abroad is harder. Be upfront about your location when you make the request, and expect some courts to refuse or to attach conditions.
Can I report what I see and hear on a remote link?
Yes — remote observation puts you in the virtual public gallery, and the normal rules of court reporting apply: fair, accurate, contemporaneous reporting of what happens, subject to any reporting restrictions in force. What you cannot do is record, photograph, or retransmit the feed itself. Check for reporting restrictions with the court exactly as you would in person — nobody hands remote observers an orders list automatically, so ask the clerk or legal adviser.
Is remote observation the same as the televised sentencing remarks from the Crown Court?
No. Broadcast of Crown Court sentencing remarks is a separate, narrow scheme in which specific broadcasters record and transmit the judge's remarks under their own authorisation. Remote observation under section 85A is private transmission to identified individuals or designated premises so they can watch a hearing — it is watching, not broadcasting, and the observer is expressly forbidden from recording or passing the feed on. See our guide to livestreaming of sentencing remarks for the broadcast scheme.
Does this framework apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
The framework described here — section 85A of the Courts Act 2003, the 2022 Regulations, and the joint Practice Guidance issued by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Senior President of Tribunals — governs the courts of England and Wales and HMCTS-administered tribunals. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own court systems with their own rules on remote access and recording; check with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service or the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service before assuming any of this carries over.

Related guides

Court ReportingCourt Photography RestrictionsRead →Court ReportingReporting the Single Justice ProcedureRead →Court ReportingMagistrates Court Daily PracticeRead →Media LawLivestreaming of Sentencing RemarksRead →Media LawReporting Restrictions OverviewRead →Media LawContempt: Active ProceedingsRead →Court ReportingCourt Reporting HubRead →

Primary sources

Not legal advice. This guide is for educational purposes. Consult a qualified media lawyer before making publication decisions in legally sensitive situations.