The Aporia
The Aporia
Pooran, N. (2026, October 13). Human rights court rules in favour of BBC Scotland in court access case. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/aberdeenshire-european-court-of-human-rights-echr-strasbourg-scottish-government-b1300685.html
Pooran, Neil. “Human rights court rules in favour of BBC Scotland in court access case.” Evening Standard, 13 Oct. 2026, https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/aberdeenshire-european-court-of-human-rights-echr-strasbourg-scottish-government-b1300685.html.
Pooran, Neil. “Human rights court rules in favour of BBC Scotland in court access case.” Evening Standard, October 13, 2026. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/aberdeenshire-european-court-of-human-rights-echr-strasbourg-scottish-government-b1300685.html.
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The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of BBC Scotland on October 13, 2026, after a years-long case regarding a journalist's exclusion from a courtroom. In August 2018, Steven Duff, a BBC reporter, was asked to leave an Aberdeen Sheriff Court hearing following a request by a legal representative for the care home involved in the case to hold it behind closed doors.
The court’s decision emphasized that journalists have a recognized status under common law and highlighted that excluding media from proceedings should be a rare occurrence. The government conceded that the sheriff’s order to close the court interfered with freedom of expression. Legal costs were awarded to BBC Scotland, marking their second victory on open justice in Strasbourg since 2010.
Rosalind McInnes, BBC Scotland's legal director, noted that this ruling underscores the need for courts to hear journalists before excluding them from hearings. The Scottish government indicated they would review the implications of this decision for ongoing court proceedings in Scotland carefully.
