Judges’ notes vulnerable to disclosure

Data protection guidance for judges is to be reviewed and updated in the autumn, writes Stephen Gold in this week’s NLJ.

Currently, most notes taken by judges in the course of proceedings are considered their private deliberations rather than the personal data of a party, he says. In July, however, the Ministry of Justice disclosed to a disgruntled claimant notes made by Judge Ian Pritchard-Witts on a constructive dismissal case, following a recommendation by the Information Commissioner on the reach of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Gold says: ‘The notes had been added to the court file and so formed part of the official record. Notes which go into the file in the first-tier tribunal and the employment tribunals, in view of the fact that no audio recording of the proceedings takes place there, are likely to be highly vulnerable to disclosure.’

Gold says future guidance is likely to pay particular attention to the status of notes made in digital case files and stored on IT equipment.