1 Power of court hearing certain appeals and applications to sit in private.

1

Where an appeal is brought against a decision of any of the courts mentioned in subsection (4) below, or an application is made for leave to appeal against a decision of any of those courts, and that court had power to sit in private during the whole or any part of the proceedings in which the decision was given, then, subject to subsections (2) and (3) below, the court hearing the appeal or application shall have power to sit in private during the whole or any part of the proceedings on the appeal or application.

2

Without prejudice to the next following subsection, the court hearing the appeal or application shall give its decision and the reason for its decision in public unless there are good and sufficient grounds for giving them in private and in that case the court shall state those grounds in public.

3

Where the decision of any of the courts mentioned in subsection (4) below against which an appeal is brought—

a

is a conviction, or a sentence or other order made on conviction, or

b

was given in the exercise of jurisdiction to punish for contempt of court,

the court hearing the appeal or any further appeal arising out of the same proceedings shall, notwithstanding that it sat in private during the whole or any part of the proceedings on the appeal state in open court the order made by it on the appeal.

4

The courts referred to in subsections (1) and (3) above are the Court of Appeal, the High Court F1the Crown CourtF5, the family court, . . . F2, F3. . ., . . . F2, F4the county court and a magistrates’ court.

5

An application to a court to sit in private during the whole or any part of the proceedings on such an appeal or application as is mentioned in subsection (1) above shall be heard in private unless the court otherwise directs.

6

The powers conferred on a court by this section shall be in addition to any other power of the court to sit in private.

7

In this section references to a power to sit in private are references to a power to sit in camera or 0in chambers, but the power conferred by this section on a court which has no power to sit in chambers is a power to sit in camera only.

8

In this section “appeal” includes appeal by case stated, and references to a court include references to a judge exercising the powers of a court.