On 2 October, changes to court rules granted a new right of access to court records allowing publication of the finer details of disputes. Until now, access has only been granted to copies of served claim forms in return for a fee (often containing little information about the claim) and judgments made in public.
A formal court application showing cause has been required to get copies of other documents, such as statements of case – see Cleveland Bridge UK v Multiplex Constructions [2005] below. The courts have also generally allowed nonparties access to documents that have been referred to at trial, irrespective of whether or not the trial was complete, or at an interim hearing.
