The aim of the article is to examine the evolution of regulations relating to media presence during hearings (Article 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedu-re). The media are considered to be the best means of the society’s oversight of the administration of justice. In order to achieve this goal, a research problem was constructed, which was expressed by the question about the evolution of the rights of media representatives to be present during hearings and the direc-tion in which changes in this area are going. The author hypothesizes that the legislative changes affecting the scope of rights of media representatives are aimed at increasing the transparency of the hearing. In order to verify this hy-pothesis, the author uses the historical-legal method. The publication consists of four parts. The first part discusses the open court principle and addresses the issue of the participation of community representatives in the administra-tion of justice. The following one indicates the negative aspects of the presence of journalists during hearings.
The next two parts provide an in-depth analysis of Article 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before and after the amendment. An analysis of these is-sues makes it possible to establish that the legislator is moving towards increasing the access of media representatives to record the course of a hearing and extending civic oversight of the judiciary.