Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor

Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor

Save for limited redactions concerning detailed modus operandi and replacement of specific names with ciphers, the principle of open justice and public interest outweighs the speculative risk of prejudice to Mr Mulcaire's future criminal trial; unredacted copies of the documents should be provided to GNM and other...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Claimant: Various Claimants; Defendant: News Group Newspapers Ltd.; Defendant: Glenn Michael Mulcaire; Interested Party: Metropolitan Police Service; Interested Party: The Guardian and the BBC; Interested Party: Crown Prosecution Service
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
27 February 2012
Procedural Posture
Application / Ruling on Media Access to Documents
Outcome
application granted in part
Legal Topics
Open Justice, Access to Court Documents, Reporting Restrictions, Confidentiality, Contempt of Court Act, Statements of Case, Redaction, Public Interest
Civil Procedure Media Law Criminal Law Open Justice Access to Court Documents Reporting Restrictions Confidentiality Contempt of Court Act +3 more

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Parties

Various Claimants

Claimant

News Group Newspapers Ltd.

Defendant

Glenn Michael Mulcaire

Defendant

Metropolitan Police Service

Interested Party

The Guardian and the BBC

Interested Party

Crown Prosecution Service

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Application / Ruling on Media Access to Documents

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Are the 3 documents statements of case under CPR?
  2. 2 Should the court exercise discretion to allow inspection of the documents?
  3. 3 Should the documents be redacted and if so how?

Ratio Decidendi

Save for limited redactions concerning detailed modus operandi and replacement of specific names with ciphers, the principle of open justice and public interest outweighs the speculative risk of prejudice to Mr Mulcaire's future criminal trial; unredacted copies of the documents should be provided to GNM and other media organisations.

Court Disposition

application granted in part

Orders

  • GNM and other media organisations to be provided with unredacted copies of the 3 documents, save for redaction of paragraph 21 of the Generic Particulars of Claim and paragraphs 8, 11, and 12 of the Response, and replacement of specific journalists' and executives' names with ciphers.
  • Solicitors for NGN to undertake permitted redactions and provide appropriately redacted versions to GNM, other parties, and the court.