UK Supreme Court Steps Up Internet Presence

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has been in the news this week for two administrative moves that bring it closer to the public it serves.

First, the Court won a long struggle to obtain an independent URL for its website. The current address, supremecourt.gov.uk, arguably suggests the court was just one department of the goverment, particularly because some other important agencies and branches already had URLs that did not require the “gov” level of domain. The new one, supremecourt.uk, will highlight its status as an independent branch. In the U.S., the Supreme Court’s web address is supremecourt.gov, but other, equal branches of government use the same configuration, such as whitehouse.gov.

Second, the Court launched a new YouTube channel for announcements of new opinions. The move has been met with praise and questions about whether full video of hearings should also be made easily accessible to the public. The Court already streams its hearings live on SkyNews. In contrast, the U.S. Supreme Court provides audio recordings and transcripts, which can be streamed simultaneously on Oyez.org.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons