The same old non-publication order regime emerges early in 2017 … Media succeeds in revoking one set of orders involving the trial on murder charges of Sydney property developer Ron Medich … Otherwise, open justice is closed for business ... more
Category: Suppression
R v Jamil Qaumi & Ors
NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill dismisses a bid by a member of the “Brothers 4 Life” criminal gang to prohibit all coverage of an imminent mega-trial … Neither do media companies have to take down archived material, for now ... more
DPP (Cth) v Brady & Ors
Almost a year after WikiLeaks breached a suppression order related to the Securency bribery trial, it has been revoked … Victorian Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth finds WikiLeaks committed a “clear and deliberate breach” by publishing the names of foreign officials allegedly involved … Larina Mullins reports ... more
Once more unto the breach
Journalists and publishers are still waiting to see if they will be charged for breaching suppression orders related to Adrian Bayley, the Melbourne man convicted of raping and killing Jill Meagher … Andrea Petrie reports ... more
Wikileaks and open courts in Victoria
Was WikiLeaks’ condemnation of the bribery case suppression order justified? And where does that leave open justice under the new Open Courts Act? James Nunez asked Melbourne barrister David Gilbertson QC ... more
Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Local Court of NSW
The ABC succeeds in setting aside wide-ranging non-publication and suppression orders imposed by the Wollongong Local Court … NSW Supreme Court Justice Christine Adamson affirms right of the media to report court proceedings ... more
Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel (ADRVP) v XZTT No. 2
The Full Federal Court affirms that the principle of open justice will prevail over “personal interests in privacy” ... A cyclist who tested positive for cocaine can be named … Daniel Stuk reports ... more
When suppression results in wilful contempt
A New Zealand man who breached an order suppressing publication of a judgment is now in jail for contempt, but was the original order justified? Wellington media lawyer Stephen Price looks at the labyrinthine logic of suppression laws ... more
Victoria’s Open Courts Bill
The Victorian parliament has finally introduced legislation to tighten the granting of suppression orders … Prue Innes looks at how the Victorian provisions ensure greater freedom of the press to report what happens in open court ... more
Judges warned over reporting restrictions
UK Press Association has a win in the Court of Appeal over restrictions on reporting … Lord Justice Leveson warns judges that they must give the media proper notice ... more
The rise and rise of suppression orders
Melbourne shapes up as the “suppression order capital” ... Why are Victorian judges more willing to grant them … And why has the NSW rate increased by one thousand per cent? Pat Bateman investigates ... more
Recent cases on open justice
Open justice is getting a good hearing in the UK, but what about Australia? NSW District Court Judge Judith Gibson analyses the differences in two recent cases – one involving The Guardian and the other Gina Rinehart ... more