Cameras in the courts: why the prohibition occurred in the UK

At the turn of the twentieth century, the owners of newspapers quickly understood the significance of truly portable cameras when they began to be manufactured. Photographers began to take photographs in courts, mainly for the purposes of publishing images of salacious trials and society gossip from the divorce courts. This article Stephen Mason (Barrister + IALS Associate Research Fellow) sets out why the taking of photographs was prohibited in courts in England & Wales in 1925 and outlines the recent decision by the Minister of Justice to permit the use of cameras in court.