Livestreaming and Broadcasting Sentencing Remarks: The UK Rules

1. The Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020

The Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020 created a bespoke exception allowing the sentencing remarks of certain senior judges in the Crown Court in England and Wales to be recorded and broadcast. It applies to sentencing remarks delivered by High Court judges and senior circuit judges. The scheme came into operation in 2022, and the first broadcast of a Crown Court sentencing followed that year.

The Order sits on top of the general framework that governs cameras in court and does not disturb the underlying prohibitions. It is an authorised, controlled exception — not a general right to film proceedings. Everything the Order does not expressly permit remains prohibited.

2. What may be filmed — and what may not

The defining feature of the scheme is how little the camera is permitted to show. Only the judge, and only while delivering the sentencing remarks, may be filmed. The framing deliberately excludes every other person in the courtroom.

The rationale is to make the court's reasoning for a sentence visible to the public — a genuine open-justice gain — while protecting the fair-trial rights, safety and privacy of everyone else in the room. Because only the sentencing remarks are covered, filming of evidence, submissions, verdicts or any other stage of the trial remains outside the scheme.

3. The accredited-broadcaster framework

Broadcasting under the scheme is not open to anyone with a camera. It operates through a small number of accredited broadcasters working to agreed protocols, using fixed cameras installed and controlled so that only the judge is captured. Footage is typically pooled and shared, so that the same compliant feed is available across outlets rather than each installing its own equipment.

For a reporter who is not part of an accredited broadcast operation, the framework does not confer any personal right to film. If your outlet wants to use sentencing-remarks footage, the route is to source the accredited pool feed, not to record it yourself in the courtroom.

4. The general prohibitions that still apply everywhere else

Outside the specific exceptions, two statutory prohibitions continue to govern courtrooms across England and Wales. Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 makes it an offence to take a photograph, or make a sketch with a view to publication, of a judge, juror, party, witness or other participant, in the courtroom or its precincts. Section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 makes it a contempt to use a tape recorder or other sound-recording instrument in court without the leave of the court, or to publish such a recording.

These provisions apply to journalists and the public alike. Filming on a phone, taking a photograph in the building, secretly recording audio, or livestreaming proceedings all fall within them. The sentencing-remarks scheme does not dilute these rules; it simply carves out one narrow, court-controlled exception for accredited broadcasters. See our companion guide on recording in workplaces and meetings for the wider recording law.

5. Court of Appeal broadcasting and Supreme Court livestreaming

The Crown Court scheme was not the first camera in an English court. Broadcasting of proceedings in the Court of Appeal has been permitted since 2013, allowing filming of the judges and advocates in certain appeal hearings. This established that controlled broadcasting was compatible with the administration of justice in the appellate courts, and it informed the later, more cautious approach to first-instance sentencing.

The UK Supreme Court, established in 2009 and separate from the courts governed by the 1925 and 1981 provisions, livestreams its hearings on its own website and archives them. So at the very top of the system, open camera access is the norm, while at first instance it remains the tightly bounded exception described above.

6. Live text-based reporting: tweeting from court

Text is treated very differently from audio and video. Under the Lord Chief Justice's Practice Guidance on the use of live text-based forms of communication from court, accredited journalists and legal commentators may generally use text-based communication — such as tweeting, instant messaging and emailing copy — from court for the purposes of fair and accurate reporting, usually without a formal application. Members of the public wishing to do the same must ask the court's permission.

The permission is confined to text. It does not authorise audio recording, photography, filming or livestreaming, all of which remain prohibited. And the freedom to text-report does not lift any reporting restriction or the law of contempt: everything you post must comply with any order in force and must not create a substantial risk of serious prejudice to active proceedings.

7. Scotland and Northern Ireland: separate regimes

The sentencing-remarks scheme, the Court of Appeal arrangements and the 1925 and 1981 prohibitions are features of the law of England and Wales. Scotland has a distinct system: recording and broadcasting in Scottish courts is governed by practice guidance issued by the Lord President, which has permitted filming in defined circumstances subject to the court's consent. The Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020 does not apply in Scotland.

Northern Ireland again operates its own arrangements. Because the exceptions to the no-cameras rule are jurisdiction-specific, a right that exists in one part of the UK cannot be assumed to exist in another. Always confirm the position for the particular court before filming or streaming.

8. Contempt and reporting-restriction risks of broadcasting and streaming

Even lawful court footage carries the ordinary risks of court reporting. The strict-liability rule under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 makes it a contempt to publish, in relation to active proceedings, material that creates a substantial risk of serious prejudice or impediment, regardless of intent. Broadcasting or streaming can amplify that risk by reaching a mass audience quickly and by being hard to retract.

Reporting restrictions — anonymity orders, section 4(2) postponement orders, and statutory protections for children and complainants — apply to broadcast and streamed content exactly as they do to print. Before publishing sentencing footage or a live text feed, confirm that no order restricts what you are about to show. See our guides to contempt and active proceedings and reporting restrictions.

9. Practical guidance for journalists

• ›Do not film, photograph or record audio yourself in any court or its precincts. Assume it is prohibited unless a specific order or scheme says otherwise.
• ›To use sentencing-remarks footage, source the accredited broadcaster pool feed rather than attempting to record it in the courtroom.
• ›Live text-reporting is generally fine for accredited journalists, but treat it as reporting: comply with every restriction and the strict-liability contempt rule.
• ›Check for reporting restrictions before publishing any court content — anonymity and postponement orders bind broadcast and streamed material too.
• ›Confirm the jurisdiction. The England and Wales rules do not automatically apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Key legislation and guidance

• Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Criminal Justice Act 1925, section 41 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Contempt of Court Act 1981, section 9 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Practice Guidance: live text-based communications from court (judiciary.uk)
• UK Supreme Court live streaming
• Crime and Courts Act 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)

Frequently asked questions