The Department of Justice began consulting in May on proposals to allow the broadcasting of judgments and legal submissions and exchanges in the Court of Appeal as well as sentencing remarks in the Crown Court.

It followed a pilot, overseen by the lady chief justice, which saw BBC NI, UTV, Sky News, ITN and PA Media allowed to film, but not broadcast, the handing-down of judgments in the Court of Appeal.

Legislative change is necessary before any such footage can be broadcast and will not happen before the next Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2027.

Publishing the summary of consultation responses, Naomi Long said the proposals were “not about turning our courts into livestream entertainment” — addressing a concern raised by lawyers in the consultation.

An organisation representing the legal profession told the consultation that “care must be taken that courts do not become akin to reality TV shows, which would only cheapen the process and would not truly serve the public interest”, according to the summary report.

The Department of Justice is to work closely with the Office of the Lady Chief Justice in developing the broadcasting plans.

Primary legislation will be introduced to provide a power for the Department, with the agreement of the lady chief justice, to make secondary legislation in the form of an order to disapply in prescribed circumstances the legislation which currently prevents the publication of images from the courts.

These are section 29 (Prohibition on taking photographs, etc., in court) of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 and section 9 (Use of tape recorders) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981.

However, the Department says this legislation “will have to be deferred until the next Assembly mandate, subject to the agreement of an incoming minister and new Executive”.

Mrs Long said: “Allowing broadcasting in courts will increase transparency and allow the public to view decisions being made by the judiciary in Northern Ireland.

“This can only be a good thing, however, I am aware some respondents to the public consultation did express concerns about the impact of the proposals on victims and children.

“It’s important to stress the broadcasting of certain court proceedings will, in essence, simply provide another way for journalists to cover proceedings on which they can already report.

“Members of the public, including victims, witnesses and jurors, will not be filmed or recorded.

“Furthermore, the decision on whether a case can be recorded or broadcast will lie with the individual judge, and any reporting restrictions will continue to apply regardless of how proceedings are reported upon.

“This is not about turning our courts into livestream entertainment; it is about improving public confidence in our justice system and, as always, victims and witnesses will remain at the heart of everything we do.”

Only those broadcasters who are permitted in writing by the Department of Justice will be allowed to record certain proceedings.