Sex Matters -v- Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Case numbers: AC-2025-LON-002809

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

In the matter of an application for judicial review

11 September 2025

Before:

Mr CMG Ockelton
sitting as a judge of the High Court

Between:

The King
on the application of
Sex Matters

-v-

Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London

Order

On an application by the Claimant for anonymity and expedition

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY Mr C M G Ockelton sitting as a judge of the High Court

  1. 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 Claimant’s application for anonymity for the person named in form N244 is granted and that person’s name is to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public; and
    (ii) that person is to be referred to orally and in writing as TBS.
    (b) Pursuant to s. 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of TBS or of any matter likely to lead to the identification of TBS 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 TBS;
    (ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the TBS, 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.
  2. Expedition:
    The application for permission is to be put before a judge for consideration on the papers promptly after the expiry of the time allowed for the claimant’s reply (or, if earlier, the receipt of the claimant’s reply) and in any event no later than four weeks after the earlier of those dates

REASONS

  1. Anonymity: The application sets out compelling reasons for the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1.
  2. Expedition: The expedition sought in the claimant’s application is not justified. The admission policy has effectively been the same since 2019, and its lawfulness is not affected by For Women Scotland: if it is unlawful now, it was unlawful when adopted. Nevertheless, the present claim may, if permission is granted, be a suitable medium for clarifying aspects of the implications of that judgment. I have therefore made the order above, which will ensure that the momentum of the proceedings is not lost and gives the claimant an incentive to promptness. It will be for the judge considering permission to determine whether to make any further case management orders.

Signed: C M G Ockelton