HKN -v- Secretary of State for Defence (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case number: AC-2026-LON-000058

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

In the matter of an application for judicial review

2 June 2026

Before:

The Hon. Mr Justice Bourne

Between:

The King
on the application of
HKN
(Claimant)

-v-

Secretary of State for Defence
(Defendant)

and

(1) ILK1
(2) ILK2
(3) ILK3
(4) ILK4
(5) ILK5
(6) ILK6
(7) ILK7
(8) ILK8
(9) ILK9
(Interested Parties)

Order

Notification of Judge’s Decision (CPR 54.11, 54.12)

Following consideration of the documents filed by the Claimant, the Defendant’s Acknowledgment of Service and Summary Grounds of Defence and the Claimant’s Reply

ORDER BY THE HON. MR JUSTICE BOURNE

  1. Permission to apply for judicial review: Permission is granted on all grounds.
  2. Anonymity:

(a) Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and/or s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998:

(i) The names of the Claimant and the interested parties are to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public; and

(ii) the Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as HKN and the Interested Parties are to be referred to orally and in writing as ILK1-9.

(b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of the Claimant or the Interested Parties or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of any of them in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings.

(c) Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4):

(i) the parties must within 7 days file a redacted copy of any statement of case filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or the interested parties;

(ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant or the interested parties, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time;

(iii) unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non-party many obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.

(d) Any person wishing to vary or discharge this Order must make an application, served on each party.

  1. Expedition: The hearing of the claim is expedited. The hearing is to be listed before the end of July 2026 if possible.
  2. Case Management Directions:

(a) The Defendant must, within 21 days of the date of service of this Order, file and serve (i) Detailed Grounds for contesting the claim or supporting it on additional grounds and (ii) any written evidence to be relied on.

(b) The Defendant may comply with sub-paragraph (a)(i) above by filing and serving a document which states that its Summary Grounds are to stand as the Detailed Grounds required by CPR 54.14.

(c) Any application by the Claimant to serve evidence in reply must be filed and served, together with a copy of that evidence, within 7 days of the date on which the Defendant serves evidence pursuant to (a) above.

(d) The parties must agree the contents of the hearing bundle. An electronic version of the bundle must be prepared and lodged, in accordance with the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide Chapter 21 and the Guidance on the Administrative Court website, not less than 14 days before the date of the substantive hearing. The parties must, if requested by the Court, lodge 2 hard- copy versions of the hearing bundle.

(e) The Claimant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument (maximum 25 pages), complying with CPR 54 PD para. 15 and the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide paras 20.1 to 20.3, not less than 10 days before the date of the substantive hearing.

(f) The Defendant must file and serve a Skeleton Argument (maximum 25 pages), complying with CPR 54 PD para. 15 and the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide paras 20.1 to 20.3, not less than 7 days before the date of the substantive hearing.

(g) The parties must agree the contents of a bundle containing the authorities to be referred to at the hearing. An electronic version of the bundle must be prepared in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The parties must, if requested by the Court, prepare a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle. The electronic version of the bundle and if requested, the hard copy version of the bundle, must be lodged with the Court not less than 5 days before the date of the substantive hearing.

(h) The time estimate for the substantive hearing is 1 day. If either party considers that this time estimate should be varied, they must inform the court as soon as possible.

(i) CPR 2.11 (variation of timetable by written agreement between the parties) does not apply.

OBSERVATIONS AND REASONS

(1) The grounds are arguable.

(2) The Claimant’s family are in hiding in Afghanistan and he has fled to Iran. There is evidence that naming them in these proceedings will increase the risks they face. There are accordingly compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 2 of this order.

(3) A degree of expedition is warranted by the risks to the Claimant and Interested Parties. The above directions should enable the substantive hearing to take place in July 2026.

Signed: MR JUSTICE BOURNE

Date: 2 JUNE 2026