Beware before you share: Neil Parpworth on draft judgments & the dangers of breaching an embargo
- The Master of the Rolls has warned that those who circulate draft judgments in breach of an embargo can expect to find themselves the subject of contempt proceedings, as per CPR PD 40E.
- Chambers and law firms which regularly use social media in order to publicise the outcome of litigation in which they have acted on behalf of clients will therefore need to be vigilant going forward.
It is common practice for draft judgments to be circulated among the respective legal teams prior to them being handed down. In R (on the application of Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2010] EWCA Civ 65, Lord Judge CJ explained that the ‘primary purpose’ of the practice ‘is to enable any typographical or similar errors in the judgments to be notified to the court’. He stressed that circulation ought not to be seen as an opportunity for the parties to ‘reopen or re-argue the case,
