Open Justice And Public Access To Documents Filed At Court

In AIB v Tracey (No. 2)¹ the High Court recently ruled in favour of an application by a non-party to litigation to have access to affidavits opened in Court which made comment about him. Judge Hogan ruled that at the very least, the non-party’s right to good name entitled him to view allegations made against him in court documents.

However there was a second, more comprehensive systemic reason for allowing such access. This is the principle of “open justice”; namely the constitutional requirement that justice be administered in public, so that it can be subject to scrutiny and examination and thereby promote confidence in the fair and even-handed administration of justice. In that context, Judge Hogan commented that public access to documents which were opened to the Court as being “part and parcel” of that principle. This right does not apply where the material had not been opened to the Court, or where the proceedings were held in private (e.g.: such as certain family law or