Court papers access challenge

Media and Law Society in Court over changes to CPR Part 5.4

The High Court today made an interim declaration that recent changes in Court rules allowing greater access to Court documents are for now to be treated as applying only to documents filed on or after 2nd October 2006.

 

Mr Justice Keith, in the Administrative Court, directed that a full hearing of the Law Society’s challenge to changes to the CPR should be heard on 2 November 2006.

 

Various media organisations (Guardian Newspapers, Times Newspapers, News Group, the Telegraph Group, Associated Newspapers, Independent Newspapers, the Financial Times, Mirror Group, Bloomberg, the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) were represented at today’s hearing, and were given permission to join the action as interested parties.

 

The interim declaration in practice extends the postponement of the new rules, obtained by urgent injunction by the Law Society on the eve of the rule changes. Documents filed before 2 October 2006 will be treated as continuing to be subject to the previous CPR 5.4 access provisions.

 

5RB‘s Jonathan Barnes, instructed by Schillings is acting as junior counsel for the Law Society.

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