Audio Recordings and Transcripts of Court Proceedings

Making a request

Requests for an audio recording or written transcript of court proceedings within Northern Ireland

From Monday 11 February 2019, all requests for a CD of audio recordings or written transcripts should be made in writing to

The Court Reporting Unit (CRU)
Laganside Courts
Belfast

Requests will be placed before the Lady Chief Justice for consideration. This policy also applies where a judge directs the parties to obtain a CD/transcript (except in the case of ongoing proceedings).

When making a request, the following information should be provided:

• the full details of the case including ICOS number, names of the parties, dates and times of hearings, the presiding Judge and the court venue (including, where possible, the Courtroom)
• detailed reasons for the request including the purpose for which the material is required and
• whether the request is for the whole or a specific part of the proceedings

Considering a request

The Lady Chief Justice will consider the request and, if approved, the applicant will be required to pay an upfront fee of £40.00 and sign an undertaking before the CD will be processed. The prescribed initial fee will be applied to all requests unless the applicant is eligible for remission or exemption of the fee. The applicant will be required to pay the remaining balance of the fee (if any) before the CD will be provided. If the applicant fails to submit the fee within 10 working days, the request will be deemed to be withdrawn and a fresh application (including payment of an upfront fee) will have to be made. Undertakings should be signed and returned by post, fax or as an attachment to an email (electronic signatures will not be accepted).

CDs will ordinarily be provided. All audio CD’s are encrypted in line with GDPR arrangements. Requestors will receive an email with instructions explaining how to open the audio. The Lady Chief Justice will only approve written transcripts in exceptional circumstances. If a written transcript is required, a full and detailed written reason must be supplied.

Our aim is to issue a response in 10 working days. Transcripts may take longer to produce depending on the length of the hearing. If a request is more urgent than this timeframe, the applicant should highlight the reason for this in the request (e.g. a case is listed for a particular date).

In general, CDs or transcripts will only be available in respect of proceedings in the Court of Judicature, Crown Courts and Family Care Centres. It should be noted that for cases before August 2004 there will be no digital recording, although there may be an audio tape. For older cases, the court reporter’s shorthand notes may no longer be available.

Contact Court Reporting Unit

The Court Reporting Unit (CRU)
Laganside Courts
45 Oxford Street
Belfast
BT1 3LL

Email: CourtReportingUnitAdmin@courtsni.gov.uk

Fees

£40.00 is the initial fee for a request for CD audio recording. This fee covers up to one hour of the proceedings. There is a further fee of £40.00 for each subsequent hour (or part of an hour) and applicants will be advised of the total fees required before the CD will be released. The fee for transcripts is £1 per folio in criminal trials and £1 per folio in civil trials.