The US allows cameras in court

Selected hearings would be recorded for a trial period later in 2004 with cameras fixed on the judge and barristers - not on the dock.

The films will not be broadcast but edited and shown to TV companies, judges, ministers and legal experts.

If successful it is thought the scheme could be the first step towards allowing filming of interesting cases.

"We will be evaluating the pilot, whether it makes people behave differently in court and what the camera people think of it," a Department of Constitutional Affairs spokeswoman said.

"I think there is a lot of interest, particularly from the TV people, partly because in America they are popular.

Consent needed

"The judges would like to see how this works and whether it will be of interest to people."

A senior judge will have to consent to the filming of each case and hear representations from those involved.

Currently cameras film House of Lords judicial committee decisions.

In Scotland, the Lord President can give legal permission to have cameras in court. It has happened once for a TV documentary, according to the Scottish Executive's Justice Department.

Filming was also allowed in the Lockerbie appeal hearings, held in the Netherlands under Scottish law.

In the United States, high-profile trials such as those of British nanny Louise Woodward and American footballer and actor OJ Simpson were filmed.