In a statement to BVI News, the Office of the Deputy Governor, which has portfolio responsibility for the local judiciary, said the only hearings the media will have access to are arrest matters until the court resumes face-to-face proceedings.

“Sittings of the Magistrate’s Court are hosted on the platform, Zoom and based on the current settings of the software, the magistrate is unable to control the media’s access to cases and information that may be deemed sensitive due to a delay in the internet speed,” the Deputy Governor’s Office said in response to questions from our news centre.

“This, as you can imagine, puts the confidence of the judicial system in a peculiar position if sensitive information is placed in the public domain due a media house being in a sitting in error,” he added.

The Deputy Governor’s Office added that the operations of the court, especially issues pertaining to security, falls within the scope of the senior magistrate.

BVI News learnt that the directive was issued by Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards.

Our news centre was further told the media will be updated once things go back to in-person hearings.

The Magistrate’s Court moved hearings online fully when it reopened on January 10 during a time when the COVID-19 cases were spiking in the territory.

The court was expected to resume in-person hearings in late January, but the high number of cases have prevented that from happening.