When trying to stop publication of his private journal on the handover of Hong Kong to China, Prince Charles’ legal team dropped a demand that witness evidence provided by his former press chief, Mark Bolland, should be considered in a private hearing. As the Prince was no doubt advised, English courts adhere to the general rule that proceedings should be held in public unless the court directs that one of the limited exceptions in Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 39.2(3) applies.
A corollary of that general rule is that the public should be given meaningful access to written materials on the court file, or which have been considered in open court, in the absence of strong and compelling reasons to refuse access. Many clients contemplating litigation do not realise that starting proceedings in the English High Court is likely to involve at least some of the documents on the court file becoming publicly accessible. This article reviews some recent decisions in this area.
