WIKIObtaining copies of court orders
In the case of website blocking ordered by the courts, while the judgments are available online, the actual orders that dictate what the precise obligations of CSPs are are effectively secret. This means that a independent third-party, such as ORG, is unable to assess if the orders are, for example, too broad (for example the order to block promobay.org) or are no longer relevant.
The orders are unavailable to the public, according to the Civil Procedure Rules unless the defendant (i.e. the ISP) acknowledges service of the order.
Therefore, in order to increase transparency of the process either, the ISPs would need to acknowledge the orders, or the rules regarding court documents would need to be modified.
Relevant sections
- 5.4C
- (1) The general rule is that a person who is not a party to proceedings may obtain from the court records a copy of –
- (b) a judgment or order given or made in public (whether made at a hearing or without a hearing), subject to paragraph (1B).
- (3) A non-party may obtain a copy of a statement of case or judgment or order under paragraph (1) only if –
- (a) where there is one defendant, the defendant has filed an acknowledgment of service or a defence;
- (b) where there is more than one defendant, either –
- (i) all the defendants have filed an acknowledgment of service or a defence;
- (ii) at least one defendant has filed an acknowledgment of service or a defence, and the court gives permission;
- (c) the claim has been listed for a hearing; or
- (d) judgment has been entered in the claim.
- (1) The general rule is that a person who is not a party to proceedings may obtain from the court records a copy of –
Links
- ORG asks court for web blocking documents, Open Rights Group, 2013-07-19