Reporting on Youth Court Proceedings

Under section 39(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (CYPA 1933) newspaper editors, owners, or journalists could be convicted personally if the newspaper is in breach of reporting restrictions such as an order or injunction.

A newspaper editor was convicted under this legislation and asked the High Court to confirm whether the provisions in section 39(2) applied only to the publishing company responsible for the newspaper.

It was found that the term "any person who publishes" referred to any person who was part of the publishing process. The people who could be convicted under this section therefore include:

• newspaper owners
• editors
• journalists who write stories in breach of reporting restrictions.

If your local newspaper has reported a story about you wrongly, contact us for a free no obligation discussion about what to do next.