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- Title
Public Access to Online Hearings.
- Authors
Boulanger-Bonnelly, Jérémy
- Abstract
The open court principle faced a significant challenge when courthouses closed their doors to limit the spread of COVID-19. The shift to online hearings in many jurisdictions generated new avenues for public access but also raised concerns for the privacy and security of individuals, and for the administration of justice. Building on existing principles and a review of the measures adopted by courts in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia during the pandemic, this paper seeks to identify best practices to preserve an appropriate balance between openness and competing interests in the online environment. It concludes that courts should improve the accessibility of their hearing schedules and their procedure for attending online hearings. It also concludes that no compelling reason prevents appellate courts from livestreaming their hearings and archiving video recordings online. By contrast, the more serious concerns for privacy and security inherent in trial hearings justify imposing minimal barriers upon access to limit the anonymity and disinhibition of online participants. At the trial stage, therefore, the public should be able to access online hearings upon providing basic personal information and an undertaking that they will abide by the applicable rules.
- Subjects
TRIALS (Law); COVID-19 pandemic; PRIVACY; PERSONAL security; ANONYMITY
- Publication
Dalhousie Law Journal, 2022, Vol 45, Issue 2, p303
- ISSN
0317-1663
- Publication type
Article