Judgment in private

Re Trustees of X Charity ([2003] 3 All ER 860)

The trustees of X Charity applied for directions in relation to certain impending proceedings. The hearing of the application was listed to be heard in private. In the course of the hearing, the question arose as to whether the Court was obliged by virtue of article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 to give its judgment in public. Article 6(1) provides: ‘In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law, judgment shall be pronounced publicly, but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interests of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice.’