Cameras will soon be allowed to film inside crown courts for the first time in UK legal history.
New legislation will make it legal for broadcasters to record the sentencing remarks of top judges at some of the most high-profile courts across the country.
Filming will be restricted to sentencing remarks only and no other court user – including victims, witnesses, jurors and court staff – will be filmed.
The draft legislation, which is being laid before Parliament on Thursday, has been welcomed by senior figures in the legal and broadcast professions.
Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC, said: "This Government, alongside the judiciary, is committed to improving public understanding of our justice system and allowing cameras into the c rown court will do just that.
"It will ensure our courts remain open and transparent and allow people to see justice being delivered to the most serious of offenders."
It is currently only legal to broadcast from certain Court of Appeal cases.
The legislation follows a three-month pilot that allowed sentencing remarks to be filmed in eight crown courts, but not for broadcast.
John Battle, head of compliance at ITN, said: "This is a landmark moment and an important day for open justice and transparency of our legal system.
"For the first time the public will see images of proceedings in the crown court on television news. This change will help a wider audience to see and understand the criminal justice process for themselves."
And Fran Unsworth, director of news and current affairs at the BBC, said: "Today’s announcement comes after a great campaign by the BBC, ITN and Sky to allow filming of judges’ sentencing remarks in the crown court and is a momentous day for transparency in our justice system.
"By opening up the courts, our audiences will be able to further their understanding of the criminal justice system and witness the judicial process for themselves."
It has previously been illegal to use any form of recording device in UK courts.
