Snooper's charter and privilege

Did you know the public can access your court documents including those lodged in judicial review proceedings or the Employment Tribunal? For reasons of 'open justice' non parties are entitled to obtain copies of documents on the court file without the court's permission and without notifying the parties to the litigation unless the parties take steps to prevent such access.

The decision in Corner House Research v Director of Serious Fraud Office confirms that judicial review proceedings do not fall outside the scope of the access provisions. A non party to such proceedings can have access to the acknowledgement of service and detailed grounds for contesting the claim form as well as the claim form itself.

On the subject of keeping communications confidential, questions of privilege continue to surface on a regular basis.