All courts should work openly and publicly so that their decisions are available for public scrutiny.
This means that the court should not hold hearings and adopt judgements in secret, ensuring that the work of the court is open and visible to the public.
Right to a public hearing
1. A right to hold an oral hearing which members of the public can attend. Bear in mind that in certain cases a court may decide not to hold a public hearing and examine a case in writing instead. Read more about an oral hearing.
example A hearing can be held in writing if the court only deals with technical issues.
example A person’s medical data or other confidential information can be concealed.
Exceptions
Generally, oral court hearings must be public, which means that members of the public and press are allowed to be present in the courtroom. However, the press and other members of society may be excluded from participating in some hearings if there are special reasons for this.
example Closed court sessions may be held to protect a minor involved in the proceedings, to protect the private life of one of the participants, or when a case involves the examination of a state secret
In all cases, when a judge makes a decision to hold a hearing that is closed to public, he/she must provide specific reasons for such decision. There must be reasons for holding a closed session for each hearing or part of a hearing.
example The need to protect a witness cannot justify the examination of the entire case in closed sessions if the witness is only questioned in one session.