Roles of Court and Anonymity

• Children under 18


  - Most children or young individuals charged with a crime are dealt with by youth courts.

  - The public cannot attend these courts, but journalists can.

  - Sections 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 bans media reports from identifying anyone aged under 18 as being involved in a youth court case, whether as defendant, witness or crime victim/alleged victim.

  - Section 49 anonymity can be lifted, in the case of a convicted defendant, to allow the media to identify him/her in the public interest - for example, after persistent offending.

  - There is no automatic anonymity for a child. or young person involved in adult court proceedings. But an adult court can make an order under section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to give him/her anonymity.
• Section 45 orders


  - Only applies to the banning of identities of children "concerned in the proceedings".

  - The section 45 anonymity order can be made in respect of a defendant, witness or victim/alleged victim.

  - This does not apply to dead children.

  - Adults also do not apply.

  - However, by a section 45 order can apply to a child or young person 'in respect of whom the proceedings are taken'. It therefore can be used to prevent a media report of a truancy case from identifying a child whose parent is prosecuted in the adult magistrates' court for failing to ensure the child attends school. The effect would be that the report could not identify the parent either and should not identify the school if there is any likelihood of this identifying the child.

  - Orders can be challenged in court by journalists.

  - A court which 'in relation' to such proceedings wants to ban the identification of such a child or young person in what is published can make an order under section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1993.

  Order can be challenged by public interest.
• Anonymity


  - The anonymity applies to crime stories as well as court reports, publication in any form - including any blog, tweet, or other type of social media, which is likely to reveal the identity of such a victim/alleged victim is illegal.
• If subject to anonymity you must not publish...

  - Name

  - Address

  - School

  - Or any detail that would identify young defendant or witnesses.

  - Photographs or moving images of juveniles involved.

  - Adults can be identified but not if it can lead to identifying the child.
• Anonymity if lifted


  - A court can remove the anonymity in certain circumstances.

  - To avoid injustice to the juvenile.

  - On conviction in the public interest (Crime Sentence Act) or to trace a juvenile wanted for a serious crime.

  - If order places a substantial and unreasonable restriction in the reporting of the case.
• More anonymity rules


  - Teachers accused of any crime have anonymity until charged under the Education Act 2011, and only lifted if charged or following successful court applications in public interest.

  - Blackmail victims can sometimes be given anonymity by court under the section 11 order of Contempt of Court Act 1981, also if there is a real and immediate threat to safety anonymity is lifelong.

  - Adult witnesses in "fear or distress" about being identified by order under section 46 of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act, if quality of evidence in. court will be affected, and anonymity is lifelong, no detail leading to the identification of the witness can be published.