“The principle of open justice is a longstanding feature of our legal system. The public has a right to know what happens in our courts and tribunals, and public confidence in the justice system relies on transparency.”
Guidance to staff on supporting media access to courts and tribunals
Getting information about court cases is very difficult. It requires a tenacious and persistent approach. Below are some authorities to demonstrate what information should be available to members of the public upon request.
I make the point that the courts in England and Wales are severely underfunded and on the verge of administrative collapse. Court staff will not see these requests as important and a degree of polite persistence may be required.
Civil – All
See: Jurisdictional guidance to support media access to courts and tribunals Civil Court Guide
“In line with Part 5 of the Civil Procedures Rules (CPR) (i.e. if all parties have acknowledged service or defence or the case is listed or judgment is entered), journalists, who phone or email, should be given factual information about cases such as listing dates, the names of parties, the judges, barristers, solicitors’ full names, the type of case and the result.“
“Staff should treat the public the same as the press and give out details about cases as set out above.“
Civil – County Court
There is no database which can be searched by the public. Those looking for a particular party will require many hours of work as each court will have to be contacted individually.
Most County Courts will use the general HMCTS nationwide switchboard who don’t have access to the media guidance document above and (in my experience) will refuse to give out information.
Civil – High Court
The High Court has an online document filing system known as CE-File. You can search for non-private civil cases.
HMCTS has a how-to guide for CE-file here. Some documents are available for ÂŁ11 a pop. A chocolate caterpillar cake is cheaper I hear you say…
The CaseBoard service is also free and quite an ingenious use of open data.
Information about listing dates will require a call or e-mail to the court.
Civil – Court of Appeal
There is no on-line database of files like the High Court but there is a CaseTracker which gives a 90% reliable case status.
Criminal
In theory you can make a request for case information via e-mail or orally.
See: The Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 Rule 5.8
Supply to the public, including reporters, of information about cases
“The information that paragraph (4) requires the court officer to supply is—
(a)the date of any hearing in public, unless any party has yet to be notified of that date;
(b)each alleged offence and any plea entered;
(c)the court’s decision at any hearing in public, including any decision about—
(i)bail, or
(ii)the committal, sending or transfer of the case to another court;
(d)whether the case is under appeal;
(e)the outcome of the case;
(f)the identity of—
(i)the prosecutor,
(ii)the defendant,
(iii)the parties’ representatives, including their addresses, and
(iv)the judge, magistrate or magistrates, or justices’ legal adviser by whom a decision at a hearing in public was made; and
(g)such other information about the case as is required by arrangements made under paragraph (5)(b)(ii).“
Mouse in the Court 