ITO -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)
Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order
Claim number: AC-2024-LON-002421
In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court
17 July 2024
Before:
The Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
Between:
The King on the application of
ITO
-v-
Secretary of State for the Home Department
(HO Ref: T3028523)
Order
On the Claimant’s application for an anonymity order, urgent consideration, directions and interim relief;
Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant;
Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE
1. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, in any report of these proceedings, there shall be no publication of the name and address of the Claimant, nor any other particulars likely to lead to his identification. In the proceedings, the Claimant shall be anonymised and referred to as “ITO”.
2. No later than 7 days from the date of service of this order, the Claimant’s solicitors shall file with the Court copies of case documents which have been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
3. Non-parties may not obtain any documents from the court file which have not been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
4. The application for interim relief is to be listed for hearing as soon as possible after 30 July 2024. Time estimate: 3 hours. Fit for vacation business.
5. The Defendant must file and serve an Acknowledgment of Service, Summary Grounds of Defence and a response to the application for interim relief, no later than 7 days after the date of service of the claim form and supporting documents.
6. Pursuant to the duty of candour and to assist the Court, the Defendant must file and serve copies of documents that are relevant to the Claimant’s case, no later than 7 days after the date of service of the claim form and supporting documents. The documents must be filed and served in an indexed paginated bundle, both electronically and in hard copy.
7. The Claimant must file and serve a Reply no later than 5 days after service of the documents referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 above.
8. The Claimant must file and serve an agreed authorities bundle, not less than 5 days before the date of the hearing. The electronic version of the bundle shall be prepared by the Claimant in accordance with the Guidance on the Administrative Court website. The Claimant must also lodge a hard-copy version of the authorities bundle at the Administrative Court Office, not less than 5 days before the date of the hearing.
9. Liberty to apply to vary or discharge this order on 2 days notice to the other party.
10. Costs reserved.
Reasons
1. I have granted an anonymity order. The Claimant is a potential victim of modern slavery who claims to be at risk. In the circumstances, a departure from the general principle of open justice is justified.
2. The Claimant challenges his ongoing detention (since January 2024) and the public order disqualification order which prevents him from accessing the protection and recovery support for victims of modern slavery.
3. The Claimant suffers from mental illness (see the report by Dr Clark) and he is an Adult at Risk Level 3.
4. I accept that the application for interim relief is urgent because of the Claimant’s detention and his vulnerable state. Accordingly, I have abridged the time for the Defendant’s response, and ordered an expedited hearing. In my view, the Claimant’s proposed timetable is unrealistically short. This is a complex case, and the Defendant must be given a fair opportunity to respond to it. The Court also requires that the case is properly prepared prior to the hearing.