Transparency is a fundamental principle of justice. A cornerstone of the rule of law, it encourages public engagement with the ‘social project of justice’, allows democratic control of the decisions and actions of justice authorities and judiciary, promotes the acceptance of those decisions by society as a ‘shared truth’ and in essence determines their legitimacy. In this sense, the existence of a public sphere is not merely conducive to but is also constituent of legitimate justice. Normally, however, the only requirement to ensure transparency is that proceedings are public, which is said to make secret trials impossible, and to promote democratic control by communities and participation in justice by involving the public in decision-making, simply through allowing public attendance or more usually through ensuring that the mass media have the means and the freedom to report on trials and hearings. For it is through the mass media that most people obtain knowledge of and form opinions on what goes on in the law courts.