Whilst paying lip service to the importance of public access to court proceedings and its corollary of unfettered media reporting,a trawl through common law jurisdictions reveals that judges and legislators have been responsible for substantial inroads into the ideal of open justice. Outside of the US, judges and legislators have long subordinated media freedom to report and comment upon matters relating to the administration of justice in order to safeguard the fairness of individual proceedings, public confidence in the administration of justice more generally or even individual privacy concerns. The subject matter of this book is a comparative treatment of constitutional protection for open justice. Focusing on developments in the legal systems of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia, the monograph draws upon the constitutionalization of expression interests across the common law world to engage in a much needed re-assessment of the basis and extent of permissible restraints on speech.

About the Author
Ian Cram is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Leeds.

Reviews
Added to the breadth and depth of the coverage is a clear, terse style which makes a sophisticated book surprisingly readable. Each chapter provides deft and succinct introductions, contextualization and summaries. Rosalind McInnes, Soliticer, BBC Scotland Edinburgh Law Review May 2005 ...detailed analysis of Article 10 of the European convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom which embodies the guarantee of free speech. A. G. Noorani Economic and Political Weekly December 2005 The book offers valuable comparative insights into English, American, Australian, Canadian and Spanish approaches, and examines relevant European jurisprudence on the subject. The Review Editor The Commonwealth Lawyer May 2003 Cram has written a well-crafted work on a very important set of issues. It is a throroughly researched and particularly well argued book. He does not merely advance propositions, but he also presents their counter-arguments and attempts to evaluate the strengths of the contending perspectives. This is one of the persistent strengths of the book. It is a book that can be used almost in its entirety in courses dealing with the significance of free speech for social institutions, or selectively for special topics or seminars on issues relating to free trial rights. The troves of information to be found in both the text and footnotes are well worth the price. Maxwell Chibundu, University of Maryland The Law and Politics Book Review May 2003



Book Information
ISBN 9781841130385
Author Ian Cram
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Hart Publishing
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 17mm