Zur Medienöffentlichkeit der Dritten Gewalt

Christian von Coelln explains the constitutional mixture of fundamental rights (freedom of the press, right to privacy) and the principles of state structures (democracy, rule of law) arisen by the media's access to jurisdiction. He describes the accessability of courts for the media as a constitutional principle which applies to all the media and the activity of the courts as a whole. In addition to the presence of journalists at trials, he also deals with the permissibility of taking pictures or broadcasting from in and around the courtroom, focusing in particular on the position of the media granted by the constitution's basic rights. In the author's opinion, the statutory ban on courtroom-television is unconstitutional. He concludes his work with a summary of the publication of court rulings and the public relations work done by the courts.