Presenting the Concept of Openness in the Administration of Justice

This chapter focuses specifically on the coverage of court proceedings over the years. The concept of open justice precedes the digital revolution but, in Europe at least, the relationship between the justice system and the media has always been ambiguous. There were legal objections to the intrusion of cameras in the courtroom, effectively turning the press into the public’s “eyes” in court. Nevertheless, the digital revolution completely disrupted this fragile equilibrium in three ways: firstly (and obviously), it entailed the rise of streaming technology as a new medium of communication; secondly, the advent of digital communication was associated with a certain decline of the press and its financial difficulty in assuming its traditional role of court coverage; and finally, the shift of mentality related to “internet centrism” requires more transparency and questions the status quo regarding the transparency of administration of justice. While most consideration is given nowadays to e-justice mechanisms, digitalization of open justice demands, therefore, more attention.