IEA -v- OOE (anonymity order)
Claim No.: QB-2021-002328
In the High Court of Justice
Queen’s Bench Division
Dated 17 June 2021
Amended 29 July 2021
Before:
Master Dagnall sitting in private
Between:
IEA
-v-
OOE
ORDER
UPON the Application of the Claimant (“the Application”) made by Notice of Application dated 16 June 2021
AND UPON consideration of the Claimants’ Article 8 right to respect for private and family life and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression
AND UPON Court considering the Notice of Application and the witness statement in support and accompanying draft order sought by it AND THAT:
1. The claim is one which might attract very significant media attention and publicity
2. The claim is an application for approval of a settlement required because the claim is brought for or on behalf of (amongst others) a child (“the Child”)
3. Publicity revealing the identity or address/location of the Claimant or of the Child or of the family or of the Defendant could result in the publication of private matters and financial information, and further and in any event could unfairly damage the interest of the Claimant and of the Child and their family and give rise to harm to the Claimant and the Child and their family.
4. Non-disclosure of the identity of and anonymity of and of the addresses/locations of the Claimant and the Child and of the Defendant is necessary in order to protect the interests of the Claimant and of the Child and to secure the proper administration of justice.
5. The Claimant’s and the Child’s identity and addresses/locations ought to be withheld from the public and should not be published, and that the Court should allow these prohibitions and give consequential directions, and that such prohibitions are necessary to secure the proper administration of justice
6. It is necessary to sit in private to secure the proper administration of justice, and including because publicity would subvert the purpose of the Application and this Order.
AND pursuant to the section 11 Contempt of Court Act 1981 and section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, Civil Procedure Rules 1998 rules 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 3.3, 3.10, 5.4 A-D and 39.2 and the inherent jurisdiction of the Court
AND UPON the Court having made an anonymity order on 17 June 2021 but which contained an accidental slip and which this Order corrects under the provisions of CPR40.12.
IT IS ORDERED and DIRECTED that:
1. The identity and the address/location of the Claimant and of the Child and their immediate family be not disclosed or published without the permission of the court (other than as required for the purposes of the carrying on of this action).
2. There be substituted for all purposes in this action in place of references to the Claimant and to the Child and to the Defendant, reference to the sequence of characters, respectively IEA and XYZ and OOE; and the Claimant and the Child and 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 respectively as “IEA” and “XYZ” and “OOE”.
3. The address of the Claimant 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.
4. That insofar as necessary, any statement of case or other document disclosing the Claimant’s or the Child’s or the Defendant’s name or address already filed in the proceedings be replaced by a document describing such name or address in anonymised form as above (and in the meantime shall be kept confidential), and the Claimant’s solicitor shall have permission to file with the court such copies of such documents adjusted so as to comply therewith.
5. The original of any such statement of case or other document disclosing the name or address/location of the Claimant or the Child or the Defendant (and in particular any Claim Form, or any statement of case, judgment, Order or other document to which anyone might have access to pursuant to Rule 5.4 A-D or otherwise at any time) are to be retained by the Court in a sealed envelope, marked “Not to be opened without the permission of a Judge or Master or District Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division”, or, if electronically filed or scanned, shall be placed on the court file and marked “confidential: not to be opened without the permission of a
Master or High Court Judge”.
6. Any person not a party to this action may not inspect or obtain a copy of any document on or from the Court file (other than this order duly anonymised as directed) and whether pursuant to Part 5.4 A-D of the Civil Procedure Rules or otherwise, without the permission of a Judge or
Master of the Queen’s Bench Division. Any application for such permission must be made on notice to the Claimant and the Court will effect service. The Court file is to be retained by the Court and marked “Anonymised”.
7. The reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant or the Child or the Defendant. The publication of the name or address/location of the Claimant or the Child or their immediate family or or the Defendant.
8. The provisions of this Order shall not apply to:
a. communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised parties 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 payments out of such money;
b. communications between the Court Funds Office and/or the anonymised party or any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money; or
c. records kept by the Court Funds Office or anonymised party or any such financial institution in relation to the money.
9. The Claimant must serve a copy of this Order and of the Notice of Application upon the Defendant and otherwise comply with CPR Rule 23.9 within three days of service of this Order upon them.
10. The Defendant may apply under CPR Rule 23.10 and CPR3.3(5) to set aside or vary this Order within seven days of service of it upon them.
11. Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
12. The Claimant has permission to apply to set aside or vary this order.
13. A copy of this Order shall be published on the judicial website of the High Court of Justice specifying that the Claimant, the Child and Defendant shall be referred to as IEA, XYZ and OOE respectively.
14. The Application and this Order shall be further considered at the first hearing of the Claim.
15. The costs of the Application are reserved.
FURTHER REASONS
1. It appears on the evidence before me on initial consideration that to identify any of the Claimant, the Child, the family and the Defendant by name or address could result in jig-saw identification of the Child and/or the Claimant, and where these proceedings are required because of the existence, interest and role of the Child, and that it would be contrary to the decision in PQ (a child proceeding by her Father and Litigation Friend RS) versus Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 1662 (QB) for such to be permitted to occur.
2. It seems to me to be necessary to anonymise the Child as well as the parties in order to achieve the desired objectives.
3. The nature of the potential actual or perceived interest to the public in this matter is such that it is essential to make any anonymity order as early as possible.
4. Both the parties and non-parties are protected by the various permissions to apply provisions in the Order.