Cameras will be allowed to broadcast hearings before Britain’s highest court when the new supreme court opens for business, The Times has learnt.

Judges say that Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, is keen to permit cameras into the court as part of the aim to make it more transparent.

The move could see some of Britain’s most high-profile appeals being shown on television. Such appeals have included the legality of detaining terror suspects without trial, whether the deaths of six Iraqis at the hands of British soldiers was covered by the Human Rights Act, and the extradition of General Pinochet.

But Mr Straw has indicated to judges that he does not favour allowing cameras into jury trials - a move that judges widely oppose because they perceive it as a step towards American-style justice that could damage the nature of court proceedings.

Mr Straw’s proposal would resolve a longstanding stalemate over whether to allow cameras in courts. It could also be a first step towards allowing cameras into other appeal hearings, criminal and civil - and from there, to High Court proceedings such as judicial review challenges.

Mr Straw has told judges that he wants to proceed but only with their full support. Senior judges are said to be in favour of the plan.

The 12 law lords, headed by Lord Bingham of Cornhill, are to become the first justices of the supreme court when the new institution is inaugurated. It is scheduled to open in October 2009 at the former Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court building in Parliament Square, which is currently being refurbished for the purpose.

At present, the law lords work in relatively small committee rooms within the House of Lords. Cases are rarely seen by the public although they are officially open to anyone. High-profile cases often create logistical problems.

The law lords’ actual decisions on whether an appeal has been upheld or rejected is already broadcast as part of the proceedings of Parliament, in a formal and rather quaint procedure in the chamber of the House of Lords.

But the judgments are not read out, nor are the appeal hearings broadcast.

Mr Straw’s predecessor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, was keen to move ahead with cameras in courts, at least for some appeals, before he was replaced by Gordon Brown when the latter became Prime Minister in June.

Lord Falconer’s decision came after a pilot project in the Court of Appeal in which six cases were recorded. The experiment, the results of which were not broadcast, was judged to be a success and won the support of senior judges who saw that the process could be unobtrusive.

The supreme court is being created under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which ended the position of the Lord Chancellor as head of the judiciary and the role of the House of Lords as the highest court in the land.

The current law lords, otherwise known as the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, will remain as members of the House of Lords when the supreme court opens. But new appointees, who will be selected by a new commission, will not be members of the Lords.

The court will . . .

— Hear appeals on arguable points of law of general public importance

— Act as the final court of appeal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

— Hear appeals from civil cases in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

— Assume the devolution jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Commonwealth jurisdiction of the council will remain unchanged

Source: Department for Constitutional Affairs

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