HIGH-profile murder case challenges are to be streamed live in Scotland for the first time.
Viewers will watch online as criminals including killers try to quash their convictions.
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The introduction of cameras at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh comes after judges hailed the popularity of similar broadcasts from our top civil court.
Streams from the Court of Session’s inner house have been viewed more than 200,000 times since last June.
Cases included the SNP government’s showdown with UK ministers over their block on gender self-ID laws.
Scotland’s most senior judge Lord Carloway said: “With the public embracing technology in an ever-increasing way, the ways in which we can open up the courts can also evolve.
“We have already embraced live-streaming of significant civil appeals.
“There are other opportunities offered by technology to welcome the public ‘into our courtrooms’.”
With the public embracing technology in an ever-increasing way, the ways in which we can open up the courts can also evolve.
Lord Carloway
The Judiciary of Scotland has published a report on their future plans for broadcasting cases following a ‘think tank’ event which was held earlier this year.
The report states: “Livestreaming of the Inner House of the Court of Session has been undertaken since June 2023.
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“It has been very well received by the legal profession, the judiciary, academia, journalists and the public.
“In the first six months of live-streaming, the live-streaming web pages were accessed by over 133,000 people and were viewed over 200,000 times by people from across the world.
“This may be compared with the physical capacity of the courtroom: a maximum of 90 persons.
“The success of live streaming Inner House hearings, and the use of live streaming in other jurisdictions, has highlighted the benefits of broadening access to justice through hearings being available online.
“Introducing livestreaming to the Inner House has involved significant resources and investment in technology.
“Nonetheless, extending livestreaming to the Criminal Appeal Court is being actively pursued in Scotland.”
Bosses are also set to allow more filming for TV shows.
It follows the success of the BBC’s Murder Trial series, filmed at High Courts, plus Channel 4’s The Push.
It followed the case of brute Kashif Anwar — convicted of shoving pregnant wife Fawziyah Javed off a cliff at the capital’s Arthur’s Seat.
The report added: “Although it was stressed that the courts must not be allowed to become a form of entertainment, there was a great deal of support and enthusiasm for the high quality of the recent documentaries about individual criminal cases.
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“For example, the informative approach taken by the makers of the BBC ‘Murder Trial’ series and the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Push’ had had a strong and positive impact in furthering open justice.
“In addition to handling the details of each case sensitively, the documentaries have helped improve the understanding of the way the courts work and the roles of the prosecution, defence and judiciary.”
