The BBC reports today that the UK Lord Chief Justice has given the nod to the use of Twitter in the court room.
This is a significant development for social media in the usually cautious legal profession and the sign of the rapid adoption of social media as a professional tool, even by the usually conservative judiciary.
The ruling issued by the Lord Chief Justice states that ‘[t]he use of an unobtrusive, hand-held, virtually silent piece of modern equipment for the purposes of simultaneous reporting of proceedings to the outside world as they unfold in court is unlikely to interfere with the proper administration of justice.’
One can only hope that Australian courts will follow this example and issue formal guidelines on the use of social media in our courts so there can be clarity about their appropriate use in this jurisdiction and that this move by the UK Lord Chief Justice will send a further signal to the legal profession about the utility of social media and its potential in the professional context.
As we are now entering the festive season, I also wish you happy holidays, and hope to see you back here in 2011!
The Vue Post 