Karen O’Sullivan examines the level of anonymity afforded to a child or protected party
To what extent is a child or other protected party entitled to an order protecting his or her anonymity? The Court of Appeal considered this question in JX MX v Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust [2015] EWCA Civ 96, [2015] All ER (D) 180 (Feb) following intervention by the Personal Injury Bar Association and the Press Association.
The infant approval proceedings arose from injuries caused by clinical negligence during the claimant’s birth meaning that she would always require the protection of the court, although at the time of the hearing she was still only six years’ old. The claimant’s litigation friend, her mother, sought anonymity for the claimant, ie an order preventing the press from identifying the claimant. Mr Justice Tugendhat reviewed what he considered to be a “formulaic” witness statement from her which evidenced no special circumstances requiring an anonymity order, that is to say that there was no particular reason to consider that the claimant would be specifically vulnerable to theft or being preyed upon by unscrupulous third parties.
