The Judiciary announced today that it will launch a trial run of live broadcasting of court proceedings through video webcasting on two appellate proceedings in the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) next month.

Emphasising that open justice is key to maintaining public confidence in the judicial system and upholding the rule of law, the Judiciary said it is actively exploring the initiative of live broadcasting of selected judicial proceedings outside court premises.

Two CFA cases to be heard on January 10 and 16 next year have been identified for the trial run. Members of the public can view the live webcast of the two cases on the CFA website via desktop computers or mobile devices installed with common browsers.

Core written materials will be available on the CFA website before the hearings, while relevant information of the live webcast will be provided nearer the time of the court proceedings on the CFA and the Judiciary’s websites.

After the live webcast, the videos of the court proceedings will be uploaded to and kept on the CFA website for a short duration for easy access. The two trial broadcasts of CFA hearings will be available for viewing for two and three calendar days respectively after the hearing date.

The Judiciary said that members of the public, including the media, must not record the live webcast or use the live broadcast footage for any purpose.

Measures such as digital rights management commonly found on streaming platforms will be put in place to deter unauthorised recording, screen capturing and illegal distribution of the live broadcast footage.

Any person who records, edits or re-broadcasts the live broadcast footage without the court’s prior permission is liable for contempt of court or copyright infringement. Warnings will be shown on the CFA website and on-screen runner during the live webcast.

The Judiciary decided to proceed with the live broadcasting of the two appeal hearings after having considered a host of factors to ensure the administration of justice will not be unduly compromised, including the need to take account of parties' views and prevent possible misuse of broadcast materials.

The primary objective of the trial run is to test the technical feasibility of the arrangements, including the information technology and audio-visual setup as well as the logistical and operational details before, during and after the hearings.

Taking into account the technical feasibility assessment, court users' feedback, and operational experience from the trial run, the Judiciary will conduct a review and consider the way forward for live broadcasting of court proceedings outside court premises in the longer term.