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13 March 2008 / Francesca Richardson
Issue: 7312 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Procedure & practice , Profession
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Francesca Richmond explains why the High Court has reversed the default position regarding access to documents in judicial review proceedings

The High Court’s recent ruling in R (Corner House Research, Campaign Against Arms Trade) v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2008] EWHC 246 (Admin) allows access to court documents filed in defence to judicial review proceedings to persons who are not party to those proceedings. This judgment overturns the previous understanding of the application of court rules on the disclosure of court documents to non-parties and is contrary to internal court guidance that such documents would not be disclosed in judicial review proceedings.

The case grew from an attempt by the Financial Times, The Times and The Guardian to obtain documents filed by the government in response to a claim regarding the decision not to continue a probe into alleged corruption in relation to BAE Systems’ dealings with the Saudi Arabian government. In the event an agreement was reached regarding the disclosure of documents to those not party

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A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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