VICTORIA - For the first time in a B.C. courtroom, cameras and tape recorders will be allowed to record some of the proceedings. The decision by a Victoria judge follows an application by CBC Radio in the trial of nine Korean crew members accused of smuggling Chinese migrants into Canada.

Judge Ronald McKinnon says the time has now arrived to permit the introduction of equipment designed to more accurately depict public events.

In making his decision, Judge Ronald McKinnon overrode objections from both the Crown and the defence in the case. He noted there was no statutory or common law restricting recording devices in court.

However he is imposing his own restrictions on what he calls an "experiment." That means there will not be any filming of the accused or the jurors. The recording will be restricted to submissions at the end of the trial, and the judge's instructions to the jury.