AB (A Protected Person By His Litigation Friend BC) -v- CD (anonymity order)
Claim No: QB-2020-001867
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
Date: 21/12/2021
Before:
Master Thornett
Between:
AB
(A Protected Person By His Litigation Friend BC)
-v-
CD
ORDER
UPON the Claimant’s Application and deciding the same without a hearing
AND UPON
(i) Consideration of the Claimant’s Article 8 right to respect for private and family life
and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression;
(ii) The Court being satisfied, pursuant to CPR 39.2 (4) that an order for non-disclosure
of the identity of the Claimant, the Litigation Friend and the Defendant in the terms
below is necessary in order to protect the interest of the Claimant and there is no
sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure
PURSUANT to Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, Section 6 of the Human Rights
Act 1998, CPR 5.4B to D and CPR 39.2
IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1. There shall be no publication or other disclosure of any name, address, image or other
information intending to identify the Claimant, Litigation Friend and Defendant.
2. The Claimant and his Litigation Friend shall be described in all statements of case and
other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings and in any judgment or order in
the proceedings and in any report of the proceedings by the press or otherwise as “AB”
and “BC” respectively.
3. The Defendant shall be described in all statements of case and other documents to be filed
or served in the proceedings and in any judgment or order in the proceedings and in any
report of the proceedings by the press or otherwise as “CD”.
4. The address of the Claimant; the Litigation Friend and the Defendant shall be stated in all
statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings as the
address of the Claimant’s solicitors or the Defendant’s solicitors as appropriate.
5. Insofar as is necessary, any statement of case or other document already filed in the
proceedings disclosing the name or address of the Claimant or the Litigation Friend, or the
address of the Defendant, is to be replaced by a document describing such name/address
in anonymised form as above.
6. The original of any such document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant or the
Litigation Friend, or the address of the Defendant, shall be recorded in the Court file as
confidential and “not disclosed or opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or
District Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division”.
7. A non-party may not inspect or obtain a copy of any document on or from the Court file
(other than this Order duly anonymised as directed) without the permission of a Master or
District Judge. Any application for such permission shall be made on notice to the Claimant
and the Defendant and the Court will effect service. The file is to be retained by the Court
and marked “Anonymised”.
8. Reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the
subsequent identification of the Claimant, the Litigation Friend and the Defendant. The
publication of the name and/or address of the Claimant or of any member of the Claimant’s
immediate family or that of the Defendant is prohibited.
9. The provisions of this Order shall not apply:
a. To communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised party or
Litigation Friend in relation to the payment of money into the Court Funds Office
for the benefit of the anonymised party or the investment or treatment of payment
out of such money;
b. To communications between the Court Funds Office and/or the anonymised party
or Litigation Friend and any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or
investment of such money;
c. To records kept by the Court Funds Office or the anonymised party or Litigation
Friend or any such financial institution in relation to such money.
10. The provisions of this Order shall not prohibit the Defendant, their insurers or its
successors in title from disclosing the Claimant’s name, address or any other information
tending to identify him to their legal and professional advisers or to the Defendant’s
reinsurers or to HM Revenue & Customs (or its successor) or to the Compensation
Recovery Unit or any other person required by law,
11. Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have the Order
set aside or varied.