Opening Up: New Public Access Rules for Court Documents

27 October 2025

From 1 January 2026, a pilot scheme in the Commercial Court, London Circuit Commercial Court, and Financial List will make skeleton arguments, written submissions, witness statements, expert reports, and other documents deemed “critical to the understanding of the hearing” readily accessible to the public and press for a nominal fee via the court’s electronic system. This marks a significant shift from the previous system, where access to such documents required a formal application, and is intended to promote transparency and open justice. Parties should be aware of the increased risk of sensitive material becoming public, as applications to restrict access (via “Filing Modification Orders”) are expected to be granted only rarely. The pilot will run for two years and may be extended to other courts.  Please see our briefing for more details.

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