Government Departments: Injunctions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of super injunctions with (a) governance and (b) transparency.
Answered by Sarah Sackman
It is for the courts to determine individual applications for interim injunctions to restrain publication of confidential information (and the existence of the injunction) on the merits of each case, and in accordance with the law and specific Practice Guidance.
The Practice Guidance on Interim Non-Disclosure Orders was issued by the then Master of the Rolls as part of the implementation of the Superinjunctions Committee’s recommendations, which he chaired and whose final report was published in 2011. It provides detailed guidance on the law, principle of open justice and model court orders.
These applications will generally be argued on the competing balances of Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the right to freedom of expression as against the right to reputation and privacy. The public interest is an important element the court will take into account.
The Government has no plans to reform the law.
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