While the United States has long embraced broad public access to
court proceedings and records, many European courts have taken a
more restrictive approach. In the United Kingdom, the landscape is
changing with a new two year pilot scheme, in force in certain UK
courts from 1 January 2026, effecting a move toward far greater
transparency. The pilot scheme may have implications for
confidentiality, reputational and commercial risk, litigation
strategy, and cross border evidence gathering. Similar
conversations are underway in other European jurisdictions, but
short-term change seems unlikely.
This alert will be of interest to US and other parties
litigating or seeking evidence in the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, and Italy.
