D v P

A court may hear proceedings in private and permit anonymity where this is strictly necessary to protect confidential information, having regard to open justice and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Where confidentiality cannot be preserved by redaction or anonymisation, the confidentiality regime may continue after judgment. The grant of injunctive relief is not precluded by the defendant’s good faith or honesty if the contractual restrictions are otherwise enforceable and the circumstances justify an injunction.

The claimant brought an expedited claim to enforce post-termination restrictive covenants in the defendant’s employment contract. Most of the trial was heard in private and the proceedings were listed anonymously to protect confidential information. After judgment, the court considered whether the judgment, order and related materials could be made public. The central issues were whether confidentiality remained necessary and whether injunctive relief was appropriate despite the defendant having acted honestly and in good faith.

1. The court continued the confidentiality regime. It had been necessary to hear most of the trial in private under CPR 39.2(3)(c), having regard to open justice and Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The confidential information would have been damaged or destroyed by a public hearing.
2. Anonymity was also continued because publication of the full judgment would destroy or damage the confidentiality of the information. A redacted or anonymised judgment could not be prepared without the same result.
3. The court’s order permitted public reference to the open-court parts of the proceedings and specified factual matters. The confidentiality restrictions could be reconsidered if circumstances changed.
4. Following the expedited trial, the court granted an injunction until 15 June 2016 restraining the defendant from acting in breach of specified post-termination restrictions. The defendant had acted in good faith and honestly, but those matters did not prevent injunctive relief being appropriate in the circumstances.