RST -v- Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (anonymity order)
Claim No: QB-2020-003577
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
Date: 14/02/2022
Before:
CLARE PADLEY (Sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court)
Between:
RST
(A Child Proceeding by his Mother and Litigation Friend
VWX )
-v-
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
ANONYMITY ORDER
UPON READING an application notice by the Claimant dated 4 February 2022
AND UPON consideration of the Claimant’s Article 8 right to respect for private and family life and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression.
AND UPON IT APPEARING that non-disclosure of the identity of the Claimant is necessary in order to protect the interests of the Claimant.
AND PURSUANT to rule 39.2(4) of the Civil Procedure Rules and section II of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and rules 5.4C and 5.4D of the Civil Procedure Rules.
IT IS ORDERED THAT:-
1. The identity of the Claimant and of the litigation friend shall not be disclosed.
2. The Claimant and the litigation friend 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 “RST” and “VWX”
3. The address of the Claimant and of the litigation friend 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. In so far as necessary, any statement of case or other document disclosing the Claimant’s name or address or the name or address of the litigation friend already filed in the proceedings be replaced by a document describing such name or address in anonymised form as above.
5. The original of any such document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant or of the litigation friend is to be placed on the Court file in a sealed envelope marked “not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division. The Court electronic file shall record that an Anonymity Order has been made in this case.
6. 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 must be made on notice to the Claimant, and the Court will effect service. The file is to be retained by the Court and marked “Anonymised”.
7. Reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant or litigation friend. The publication of the name and address of the Claimant or of any member of the Claimant’s immediate family or the name and address of the litigation friend is prohibited.
8. The provisions of this Order shall not apply:-
(i) to communications between the Court Funds Office / Trust and the anonymised party or Litigation Friend in relation to the payment of money into the Court Funds Office/ Trust for the benefit of the anonymised party or the investment or treatment of payment out of such money;
(ii) to communications between the Court Funds Office/Trust and/or the anonymised party or Litigation Friend and any financial institution concerned as to the receipt or investment of such money; or
(iii) 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.
9. The Claimant will by 18th February 2022 draw and file this Order and serve the same on the Defendant.
10. The Claimant will comply with rule 23.9(2) by service on the Defendant.
11. The Defendant may apply under rule 23.10 to have this Order set aside or varied.
12. Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
13. Pursuant to CPR 39.2(5) a copy of this order in its anonymised form shall be published on the Judicial Website of the High Court of Justice (www.judiciary.uk) pursuant to the Practice Guidance: Publication of Privacy and Anonymity Orders (16 April 2019). For that purpose a Court officer will send a copy of the order, preferably in pdf format, by email to the Judicial Office at judicialwebupdates@judiciary.uk. The email shall be headed “Order for Publication under CPR r39.2(5)”.