Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945

29 Prohibition on taking photographs, etc., in court. N.I.

(1) No person shall—

(a) take or attempt to take in any court any photograph, or with a view to publication make or attempt to make in any court any portrait or sketch of any person, being a judge of the court or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether civil or criminal; or

(b) publish any photograph, portrait or sketch taken or made in contravention of the foregoing provisions of this section or any reproduction of such photograph, portrait or sketch;

and if any person acts in contravention of this section he shall, on summary conviction, be liable in respect of each offence to a fine not exceeding[F1 level 3 on the standard scale].

[F2 (1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to anything done in accordance with a direction under section 85A of the Courts Act 2003 (remote observation and recording of court and tribunal proceedings).]

(2) For the purposes of this section—

[F3 (a) the expression “court” means any court of justice (including the court of a coroner), apart from the Supreme Court;]

(b) the expression “judge” includes recorder, registrar, resident magistrate, justice of the peace sitting out of petty sessions and coroner;

(c) a photograph, portrait or sketch shall be deemed to be a photograph, portrait or sketch taken or made in court if it is taken or made in the court-room or in the building or in the precincts of the building in which the court is held, or if it is a photograph, portrait or sketch taken or made of the person while he is entering or leaving the court-room or any such building or precincts as aforesaid.

F1 1984 NI 3

F2 S. 29(1A) inserted (28.4.2022) by Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (c. 32), ss. 198(3), 208(4)(aa)

F3 S. 29(2)(a) substituted (1.10.2009) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 47(2), 148(1); S.I. 2009/1604, art. 2(b)