# The Crown Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1979, Rule 44A: [ Hearings in Camera

Extent: N.I.

(1) Where a prosecutor or a defendant intends to apply for an order that all or part of a trial be held in camera for reasons of national security or for the protection of the identity of a witness or any other person he shall not less than 7 days before the date on which the trial is expected to begin serve a notice in writing to that effect on the chief clerk and shall at the same time serve a copy of the notice on each other party to the proceedings.
(2) On receiving such notice, the chief clerk shall forthwith cause a copy thereof to be displayed in a prominent place within the precincts of the Court.
(3) An application by a prosecutor or a defendant who has served such a notice for an order that all or part of a trial be heard in camera shall, unless the Court otherwise orders, be made in camera after the defendant has been arraigned but before the beginning of the trial and if such an order is made, the trial shall be adjourned until whichever of the following shall be appropriate—
(a) 24 hours after the making of the order, where no application for leave to appeal from the order is made; or
(b) After the determination of an application to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal, where the application is dismissed; or
(c) After the determination of the appeal by the Court of Appeal, where leave to appeal is granted.
(4) For the purposes of this Rule, a trial shall begin upon the date upon which a defendant is put in charge of the jury or, where the trial is conducted by a judge without a jury under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts 1978 and 1987 upon the date on which Crown Counsel begins to open the Crown case to the judge.]

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/1979/90/rule/44A (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/crown-court-rules-northern-ireland-1979/rule-44A
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.