A Practical Guide to Privacy, Transparency, Reporting Restrictions and Closed Hearings in the Court of Protection

The Court of Protection is seized with decision making for individuals who are found to lack the mental capacity to make those decisions for themselves. Those decisions can involve the individual's health and welfare, including serious medical treatment decisions, as well as decisions about the management of their property and financial affairs.

As a result, cases that come before the Court of Protection will often involve sensitive and private information about the individuals on whose behalf the court is making decisions. Careful consideration needs to be given to the rights of those individuals to have their privacy protected, whilst also balancing the important principles of open justice and the need for transparency in the court's decision making.

The general rule in the Court of Protection is that hearings are to be held in private, however the implementation of the new Practice Direction 4C - Transparency in 2017 has meant that the usual approach is now that proceedings will be heard in public but with appropriate orders being made to manage what information can reported.

This guide considers the impact of the new practice direction and how the balancing exercise referred to above is undertaken by the court by reference to the practice direction, court rules and case law.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The Rules and Practice Directions

Chapter 2 - Privacy

Chapter 3 - Transparency

Chapter 4 - Lifting Reporting Restrictions

Chapter 5 - Transparency and Privacy in the Context of Committal Proceedings in the Court of Protection

Chapter 6 - Transparency in the Context of Closed Proceedings

Chapter 7 - Conclusions