In English legal proceedings, a confidentiality club (also known as confidentiality ring)[1] is an agreement occasionally reached by parties to a litigation to reduce the risk of confidential documents being used outside the litigation. The agreement typically provides that only specified persons can access some documents. Setting up a confidentiality club "requires some degree of cooperation between the parties".[2] Confidentiality rings or clubs were described in 2012 as being increasingly common;[3] the case report on Roche Diagnostics Ltd. v Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, a public procurement dispute, also notes that they are "common in cases of this kind", and allow for specific disclosure of documents without causing the "difficulty relating to confidentiality" which would otherwise arise.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Sime, Stuart; French, Derek (2012). Blackstone's Civil Practice 2013: The Commentary. Oxford University Press. 48.35. ISBN 9780191645495.
  2. ^ Cook, Trevor; Garcia, Alejandro I. (2010). International Intellectual Property Arbitration - Volume 2 of Arbitration in context series. Kluwer Law International BV. p. 265. ISBN 9789041127259.
  3. ^ Matthews, Paul; Malek, Hodge M. (2012). Disclosure. Sweet & Maxwell. p. 441. ISBN 9780414047792.
  4. ^ England and Wales High Court (Technology and Construction Court), Roche Diagnostics Ltd v The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, EWHC 933 (TCC), paragraphs 9, 10 and 30, delivered 19 April 2013, accessed 31 December 2022