“Open justice, an essential ingredient of a democracy, is usually understood to mean the absence of secret trials and the right of the individual – subject to very few carefully defined exceptions – to enter any of our courts and watch proceedings, without hindrance. But most people do not find it practical or easy to make such personal visits, so the principle of open justice has been extended to include the presence of representatives of the media, acting as the people’s proxy, reporting on behalf of the population what goes on in our courts.”
The Guardian, 7th December 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
