Week 2 & 3 Flashcards
Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933
Automatic reporting ban on identifying juveniles in youth court
Dead victims can be identified
The restriction expires when the offender reaches 18
It can be lifted
- to avoid injustice
- to help trace young person at large
- if it is in the public interest to do so
Should not publish
- Name
- Address
- Place of Work
- Place of Education
- Still or Moving image
Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 199
Discretionary power to make a reporting restriction when a youth, witness, victim or defendant appears in adult court.
Lapses at 18.
Court must give a valid reason.
Cannot apply to a dead child.
Cannot be used to give anonymity to an adult.
Penalty is an unlimited fine
You cannot report
- Name
- Address
- Place of Work
- Place of Education
- Still or Moving image
Section 45a of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999
Discretionary lifetime reporting restriction banning ID of vulnerable victims or witnesses – can be imposed by any court.
Person can waiver their anonymity in writing at 18 and doesn’t interfere with their ‘peace and comfort’.
You cannot report
- Name
- Address
- Place of Work
- Place of Education
- Still or Moving image
Section 39 of Children and Young Persons Act
Discretionary reporting restriction banning ID of under 18s in civil courts and inquests.
Expires at 18.
Cannot apply to dead child.
Penalty is unlimited fine.
You cannot report
- Name
- Address
- Place of Work
- Place of Education
- Still or Moving image
The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992
Automatic lifetime ban on naming victims/alleged victims of sexual attacks and victims of human trafficking offences (section 1 relates to human trafficking/modern slavery victims).
Victims over 16 can waiver their right to anonymity but their peace and comfort should not be interfered with.
Jigsaw Identification
A person whose identity should be protected in law is revealed to the public in media coverage of crimes or court cases. The identification occurs when published reports by different news organisations contain different details.
Meaning readers or watchers of more than one report will be able to piece together details that lead to the identification of the victim
The term is also used when too much detail in a single news report identifies someone who should have anonymity.
Clause 11 of the IPSO Editor’s Code
“The press must not identify victims of sexual assault or publish material likely to contribute to such identification unless there is adequate justification and they are legally free to do so.”
Clause 7 of the IPSO Editor’s Code
The press must not, even if legally free to do so, identify children under 16 who are victims or witnesses in cases involving sex offences.
Public interest exception applies here.
i) The child must not be identified (this is illegal anyway)
ii) The adult defendant may be identified (if this does not identify a child victim or witness)
iii) The word “incest” must not be used where a child victim might be identified.
iv) Care must be taken that nothing in the report implies the relationship between the accused and the child.
Rule 1.8 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code
“Be particularly careful not to provide clues” which may lead to the identification of children when by law they should have anonymity “as a victim, witness, defendant or other perpetrators in the case of sexual offences featured in criminal, civil or family court proceedings”.
Warns against jigsaw identification and that inadvertent use of the term ‘incest’ may identify such a child.
When can codes of practice order be lifted?
- Victim over 16 waives the right to anonymity and signs a written waiver (obtained without his/her peace and comfort being interfered with)
- Court lifts the restriction because of ‘substantial and unreasonable’ burden in reporting proceedings fully
- It’s in the public interest to do so
- Defendant asks court to lift the restrictions to appeal for witnesses to come forward (to avoid substantial prejudice to the defence)
- ‘Victim’ is prosecuted for making a false allegation – lifted once charged with the offence
Section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment Act) 1992 amended by the 2015 Modern Slavery Act.
- Lifelong anonymity applies to victims or alleged victims of ‘human trafficking for exploitation’
- There has to be exploitation but it doesn’t have to be sexual
Section 1 of the FGM Act 2003
Makes it an offence to identify a victim of FGM – restrictions are the same as for sexual offences
Circumstances in which they can be lifted also the same
Schedule 6A of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
Automatically bans publications from identifying a person in their lifetime as being a victim (or alleged victim) of the offence of forced marriage.
