The public will have a greater opportunity to scrutinize court decisions and obtain key documents under new access policies released this week by two B.C. courts.

The policies seek to clarify a number of issues which had prevented the public and media outlets from monitoring court proceedings or reviewing relevant materials.

The new policies, which were posted on the B.C. Supreme and provincial court websites this week, will take effect Feb. 28.

"[The] policy document is a significant and helpful step in the ongoing process of ensuring an open and accessible court," Chief Judge Thomas Crabtree of the B.C. Provincial Court said in a release.

The policies cover a range of issues, including access to courtrooms, access to digital audio recordings, and the televising of court proceedings.

"British Columbia's court system is based on fundamental principles of openness and accessibility," Chief Justice Robert Bauman, of the B.C. Supreme Court, said in a release.

"These principles reflect society's interest in providing for public scrutiny of its key institutions, including the court, so that there can be confidence that these institutions are functioning as they should."

The policies correct a number of problems exposed by a Times Colonist investigation in February 2010.

The series found that B.C. courts were wrongly denying the public access to documents in cases where there was a publication ban in effect.

The new court policies make clear that documents under ban are available to the public and that the onus is on the person or media outlet not to publish any material covered by the ban.

There are already significant penalties in place to punish anyone who violates a publication ban.

The Times Colonist also found that a number of courts were violating high court decisions, as well as provincial guidelines, by blocking access to unsealed search warrant documents.

In some cases, a reporter or member of the public was required to know the date and location of a search before the court would allow access to the information.

In other cases, courts were failing to maintain files of unsealed warrant information for public viewing as required by provincial policy.

The court policies clarify that the public has a right to look at unsealed search warrant documents. The provincial court guidelines also require that each courthouse maintain an up-to-date public access file for easy viewing.

"Members of the public have open access to the entire public access file and do not have to ask for specific cases," the policy states.

The posting of new policy documents is the latest move to improve court access.

Last year, then attorney general Mike de Jong scrapped a $6 fee for online searches of the B.C. criminal and traffic court database. Times Colonist stories had raised questions about the fee's impact on the ability of the public and media to effectively monitor the court system.

lkines@timescolonist.com