7 Super injunctions in place in NI

Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-

“Since by their very nature super injunctions do not sit comfortably with the transparency expectations of modern society, it is, I believe, in the public interest that information about the number and lifting of super injunctions should be known.

“Accordingly, I have sought through an Assembly Question relevant information.

“It is now confirmed that 7 super injunctions continue to be live, meaning no publicity is possible, including to whom and why the super injunction was issued. It will be noted that, dating back to 2009, some of these have been in place for years, which raises the issue of whether and how the continuing need is subject to review.

“The emergence of ‘super injunctions’ is a product of the courts being persuaded to prioritise privacy rights over freedom of expression and press rights within the Human Rights Act. I am far from convinced that this balance is weighted in the right direction, particularly where it is a facility which in practical terms is only likely to be available to those who can afford it.

“I will, therefore, continue to explore this issue, including what information is available once such an injunction is lifted.”

Mr Allister’s question and the Minister’s response are as follows:

AQW 7182/22-27
Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the number of orders that have been made by the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland prohibiting publicity on the granting of injunctive relief, since 1 January 2006; (ii) when each order was made; (iii) the number that are extant; (iv) whether any such orders have been discharged since 1 January 2006; and (v) the total of orders, whenever made, extant at the date of answer.

Answer:

The table below details the number of orders that have been made by the High Court prohibiting publicity on the granting of injunctive relief since 1 January 2006.

In the preparation of this answer the relevant injunction orders were extracted from the Integrated Court Operations System and potential cases identified. These orders were then subject to a manual review to establish those cases that fell within this category. A previous manual review, undertaken to provide an answer to AQW 21598/17-22, identified one order prohibiting publicity on the granting of injunctive relief. On further consideration, this order has been reassessed and has been re-categorised as not meeting the full range of restrictions that prohibit publicity on the granting of injunctive relief. Consequently, this case does not appear in the table below.

The exact date when an order was made or discharged cannot be provided without a risk of contravening the terms of the order.

Information on all extant orders, whenever made, is not readily available and could only be compiled at a disproportionate cost.