Legal Committee Discussed Bill on Prohibiting Photo-film-video Shooting and Audio Recording in Courtrooms

The legal Committee discussed the project on amendments to be made to the Organic Law of Georgia on Courts of General Jurisdiction under which photo-film-video shooting and audio recording shall be prohibited in the court building and courtrooms.

Under the present project Article 12, Paragraph 4 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Courts of General Jurisdiction is to be formulated under the wording: “Photo-film-video shooting and audio recording shall be impermissible during the trial in the court building and courtroom. The court is entitled to spread photo-film-video shooting and audio recording materials, unless it contradicts the law”.

According to the authors of the amendments the present law on photo-film-video shooting and audio recording and also TV and radio broadcasting at the court trial “on the one hand contributes to informing the audience of the trial proceedings, but on the other hand cameras in the courtrooms incite staging the trials and provocations by both sides. Under the circumstances the trial goes beyond the legal norms and instead of presenting the proof and discussions the trial process is overwhelmed with agitated statements hampering the trial process and psychologically affecting the judge. Apart from hindering the trial proceedings the aforementioned contributes to the formation of wrong public opinion. The formation of the public opinion ahead of the court adjudication is another example of direct psychological affect over the court. Besides, absolutely groundless statements and comments are aired through mass media outlets, and the formation of public opinion in this way, mainly contradicting to legal regulations, aims at court discredit”.

The authors of the bill also consider that the prohibition of photo-film-video shooting and audio recording does not restrict the principle of publicity of the trial, while any individual, among them mass media representatives are free to attend the trail, the journalists can make notes and publicize the court proceedings and take interviews.

The adoption of the bill, as of being underlined, contradicts neither the EU directives nor Georgia’s bilateral and multilateral agreements.

The parliament opposition does not support the legislative amendment.

Source: Media.ge