September 2026
As of 1st January 2026, HMCTS has launched its pilot scheme aimed at increasing ‘open justice’ through widening public access to certain court documents. Under the pilot, a broader range of core documents filed via the online CE-File system can be requested and accessed by parties that are not directly involved in proceedings.
What is the scheme?
The pilot scheme, introduced in Practice Direction 51ZH. It came into force on 1st January 2026, and will operate until 31st December 2027. The scheme will increase access to documents filed or used in public hearings in:
- (i) Commercial Court and London Circuit Commercial Court of the King’s Bench Division, and
- (ii) Financial List of the Commercial Court and Chancery Division.
The documents available in each case will depend on party-agreed lists and judicial directions. However, parties should expect public access to certain documents once they are filed or used at a hearing. These include:
- Skeleton arguments (a concise summary of a party’s case);
- Written opening and closing submissions;
- Witness statements and affidavits (not including documents appended or annexed to the witness statement or affidavit);
- Expert reports (including appended and annexed documents); and
- Any other documents deemed by the judge to be critical to understanding the hearing, and any documents agreed by the parties to be ‘Public Domain Documents’
Documents must be filed for public access within set timeframes. This ensures consistency across proceedings. Skeleton arguments and written opening and closing submissions must be filed two clear days after the start of the hearing, or hearing day in which they are relied upon. All other documents must be filed for public view in a period beginning on the day when the document is used. That period ends at 16:00 on the fourteenth day after first use. The Court can order the documents to be filed earlier, or parties can agree between themselves to an earlier filing.
What are the pros and cons of increased transparency?
A core objective of the pilot is to provide timely access to information to increase transparency and advance the principle of open justice. This increase in online access will allow media outlets to obtain court documents at a small cost. It will also allow them to report on substantive trial issues as they unfold.
There are questions on the usefulness of the pilot. Certain documents only become accessible up to fourteen days after their use at trial. This is likely to be considered too late to report on in the fast-moving world of modern media.
Increased transparency will also inevitably increase the risk that commercially sensitive and personal information used in court documents will become more readily available. Such information may also be reported on in the media. To combat the risk of over-sharing private information, the pilot introduces a Filing Modification Order (“FMO”). This gives parties to proceedings and parties named in documents the ability to restrict public access. This must be done through a Court application.
The exact stipulations required to acquire an FMO are not provided in the practice direction. Any party seeking to restrict public access of the relevant documents must provide reasons. Those reasons must be included in support of the FMO application.
What does this mean for parties involved in commercial litigation?
For those involved in Commercial Court or Financial List proceedings, the pilot scheme introduces new considerations around confidentiality, reputational risk, and litigation strategy. Documents that were previously accessible only to the parties may now be reviewed by the media and the wider public, increasing the likelihood of commercially sensitive information entering the public domain. As a result, parties may need to take a more proactive approach to document preparation, redaction, and the use of Filing Modification Orders, particularly in disputes involving pricing structures, internal communications, or personal data.
