Old Bailey

Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre.

Old Bailey est le nom de la Cour criminelle centrale d'Angleterre (un bailey étant une partie d'un château). Elle traite ses principaux cas criminels en Angleterre.

The Central Criminal Court in England, commonly known as the Old Bailey (a bailey being part of a castle), is a Crown Court centre (higher criminal court) in central London, dealing with major criminal cases in Greater London and, exceptionally, in other parts of England. It stands on the site of the medieval Newgate Gaol, in the street also called Old Bailey which is situated between Holborn circus and St Paul's Cathedral. The present building dates from 1907 (officially opened on 27 February 1907) and was designed by E.W. Mountford. Above the main entrance is inscribed "Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer". King Edward VII personally opened the courthouse.

All judges sitting in the Old Bailey are addressed as "My Lord" whether they be High Court, circuit judges or Recorders. The Lord Mayor of London and aldermen of the City of London are entitled to sit on the judges' bench during a hearing but do not actively participate in trials.

On the dome above the court is to be found the statue of justice, a woman (without a blindfold), holding in her right hand a sword standing for the power to punish, and in her left hand a balance standing for equity. The statue is actually not blindfolded, as most images of Lady Justice are, and this fact has received many a scoff from criminals being brought into the Old Bailey, remarking that their justice is not impartial and unbiased.

Although most court hearings in the UK are public, Court No. 2 has the peculiarity that the witness box is placed underneath the public gallery, thus ensuring the anonymity of witnesses in trials where it is needed.

During the Blitz, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, but subsequent reconstruction work restored most of it in the early 1950's. In 1952 the restored interior of the Grand Hall of the Central Criminal Courts was once again open.

From 1968 to 1972 a new South Block, designed by the architects Donald McMorran and George Whitby, was built containing more modern courts.

The most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court has the title of the Recorder of London, and his deputy has the title of Common Serjeant of London. The present Recorder of London is His Honour Judge Peter Beaumont QC, who was appointed in December 2004 following the death earlier that year of his predecessor, His Honour Judge Michael Hyam. The present Common Serjeant is His Honour Judge Brian Barker QC. The position of Recorder of London should not be confused with that of Recorder, which is the name given to lawyers who sit part-time as Crown Court judges. A select number of the most senior criminal lawyers in the country sit at as Recorders in the Central Criminal Court.

Sir John Mortimer, a criminal barrister, often appeared at the Old Bailey. His courtroom experiences led him to create the fictional character Horace Rumpole, alias Rumpole of the Bailey.

Trials in the Old Bailey are open to the public, like most criminal trials in the UK, but it is forbidden to take any form of note in writing, and no form of electronic equipment, including mobile phones, can be brought in. Walkmans, mobile phones, bags and radios are strictly banned from the public gallery for security reasons, and anyone unlucky enough to have their phone ring in Court is likely to find themselves sent down to the cells for contempt of court.

The Old Bailey celebrated its 100th Birthday on 27 February 2007 with a Reception attended by Queen Elizabeth II.[1]

[modifier] In popular culture

• In the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the Old Bailey is the courthouse named in the book where Charles Darnay is put on trial for treason.
• The Old Bailey is destroyed by the character V in the graphic novel V for Vendetta and its film adaptation.

[modifier] See also

• Courts of the United Kingdom
• Royal Courts of Justice
• Bow Street Magistrates' Court
• Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court
• Elizabeth Brownrigg (defendant, 1767)

[modifier] External links

• The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1834 - Archive of case details
• Central Criminal Court from the architectural heritage section of the City of London website
• Old Bailey photographs at 100 years old (from BBC)

Coordinates: 51° 30’ 57’’ N, 0° 6’ 7’’ W