JKL -v- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (anonymity order)
Claim No: QB-2019-000142
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
29 April 2021
Before:
JKL
-v-
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Before Mr Roger Ter Haar QC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court Heard on MS Teams
UPON the Claimant’s application.
AND UPON HEARING Mr Jacob Levy one of Her Majesty’s Counsel on behalf of the Claimant and Mr John Whitting one of Her Majesty’s Counsel on behalf of the Defendants.
WHEREAS pursuant to CPR 39.2 (4) the Court is satisfied that an order to the terms below is necessary to protect the interests of the Claimant and there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED PURSUANT to Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and CPR Rule 5.4A to 5.4D and CPR Rule 39.2 that:
1. The Claimant and the Claimant’s Litigation Friend shall hereinafter be referred to in these proceedings respectively as ‘JKL’ and ‘MNO’.
2. There shall not be disclosed in any report of the proceedings the names or address of the Claimant or the Claimant’s Litigation Friend or any details leading to the identification of the Claimant or the Claimant’s Litigation Friend. The Claimant and the Claimant’s Litigation Friend, if referred to, shall only be referred to as ‘JKL’ and ‘MNO’.
3. 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 Judge of the High Court. Any application for such permission must be made on notice to the Claimant, and the Court will effect service. Copies of the Statements of case, judgments or orders are to be retained by the Court on HMCTS e-filing system (CE-file), marked “Confidential” and are not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division.
4. A person who is not a party to the proceedings who obtains a copy of a Statement of Case, judgment or order from the court records pursuant to paragraph 4 above may only do so if the Statement of Case, judgment or order has been anonymised such that:-
a. The Claimant and the Claimant’s Litigation Friend are referred to only as ‘JKL’ and ‘MNO’.
b. The addresses of the Claimant, the Claimant’s Litigation Friend and the Claimant’s family have been deleted from those documents.
c. There has been redacted any information which might identify the Claimant or the Claimant’s Litigation Friend.
5. There shall be no publication in any newspaper or other media or other disclosure of any name, address, picture or information tending to identify the Claimant and the Claimant’s Litigation Friend.
6. That any party or non-party affected by this Order may apply without time restriction on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
7. For the avoidance of doubt, paragraphs 1 to 6 above shall not apply to the following, which do not constitute publication (providing always that proper steps are taken to protect the confidentiality of information from being made public):
a. Communications between the Court Funds Office and the anonymised party, litigation friend or deputy 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. Communications between the Court Funds Office, the Claimant’s representatives, or any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money;
c. Records kept by the Court Funds Office, the claimant’s representatives, or any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of the claimant’s money;
d. Retention by the parties and/or their representatives of their unredacted files for the purposes of their continuing functions and obligations in relation to the proceedings.
8. The Court file shall be clearly marked with the words “An anonymity order was made in this case on 29 April 2021 and any application by a non-party to inspect or obtain a copy document from the file must be dealt with in accordance with the terms of that Order”.
- Pursuant to the “Practice Guidance: Publication Privacy and Anonymity Orders” issued by the Master of the Rolls on 17 April 2019 a copy of this Order shall be published on the Judicial Website of the High Court of Justice (www.judiciary.uk). For that purpose a court officer will send a copy of the order by email to the Judicial Office at judicialwebupdates@judiciary.uk.
10. Costs in the case.