The Right of the Defendant for Public Hearing and the Role of Media in this Publicity
The Right of the Defendant for Public Hearing and the Role of Media in this Publicity

Summary/Abstract: Legal base of publicity of the trial (according to ECHR) is Kosovo Constitution. Opening of court session is aimed at guaranteeing the development of an unmanaged process, avoiding the possibility of misuse, getting people to know more about court rules and at the same time encouraging judges to respect these rules. But if an open public hearing is incompatible with trial justice then priority is given to the latter. Therefore, the court may restrict public participation and media coverage to the extent necessary to protect other legitimate interests, even without revocation of such rights in full, especially in the proceedings against juveniles but also in cases where they are witnesses in procedure. Restricting publicity can also be made if national security is in danger. But, courts have been criticized for lack of publicity. In media reports on functioning of judiciary it is stressed out that they encountered many problems in obtaining information. During the preparation of this article, I have used the legal, comparative, statistical and analytical methods.

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