Reporting Restrictions on Youths Appearing in Court

Automatic reporting restrictions apply whenever a child or young person is involved in proceedings before the Youth Court.

However, in cases where a child or young person appears before the adult Magistrates' Court there are no automatic reporting restrictions, so the court needs to consider whether or not to impose them.

As mentioned in my An Introduction to the Youth Court article, the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 defines a child as someone under the age of 14 years old; a young person as someone aged between 14 and 17 years old.

In England and Wales the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old. There is an irrebuttable presumption, in the eyes of the law, that no child under the age of 10 is capable of committing a criminal offence.

To avoid unnecessary repetition I shall collectively refer to children and young people as youths.

Children and Young Persons Act 1933

Section 49(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, which automatically applies to every Youth Court hearing, prohibits the publication of any information that is likely to lead to the identification of any youth defendant, complainant or witness involved in proceedings. Such a restriction applies until the eighteenth birthday of the youth concerned.

Section 49(4A) allows the court to dispense with this restriction in relation to a youth convicted of an offence if it is in the public interest to do so. When considering whether or not to make such a dispensation, the court must allow all the parties to make representations. The court must take into account the views of the parties when reaching its decision.

Section 49(9) makes it an offence to breach any restrictions imposed by virtue of section 49(1). The maximum penalty for this offence is an unlimited fine.

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Occasionally youths become involved in proceedings in the adult Magistrates' Court. This could happen if:

• They are arrested and appear in custody before the first available (adult) court;
• They appear with an adult co-accused;
• They appear as a witness;
• They are somehow mentioned in evidence.

Section 49(1) of the 1933 Act does not apply in these situations, but the court can still impose reporting restrictions by virtue of section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

Section 45(3) of the 1999 Act allows the court to prohibit the publication of any information that might lead to the identification of any youth defendant, complainant or witness involved in proceedings. Such a restriction applies until the eighteenth birthday of the youth concerned.

Section 45(4) allows the court to dispense with this restriction (make an "excepting direction") if it is of the opinion that:

• It is a substantial and unreasonable restriction on the reporting of proceedings; and
• It is in the public interest to remove or relax the restriction.

Section 45(6) requires that the court has regard for the welfare of the youth concerned when it is making a direction under section 45(3) or 45(4).

Section 49(5) makes it an offence to breach any restrictions imposed by virtue of section 45(3). The maximum penalty for this offence is an unlimited fine.