A controversial decision to prevent the public and press from seeing criminal charge sheets was 'closing the shutters' on open justice, legal experts said yesterday.
Barristers feared that innocent people could be unintentionally libelled if journalists were not enabled to identify an accused clearly by using the charge sheets.
The outcry follows a Judiciary decision taken behind closed doors that defendants' charge sheets should be treated as 'privileged information'.
Magistrates' courts are now refusing access to the sheets which give the accused's name, age, address and charges.
Court staff said the decision was made in the spirit of the new Data Protection (Privacy) Ordinance to protect the privacy of defendants.
But senior barrister John McLanachan said the 'closed-door attitude' contradicted moves to open up justice.