The Commercial Court has released for publication a series of judgments addressing the principles applicable to the grant of without notice third party disclosure orders, and related seal and gag orders. The first judgment of Mr Justice Bryan [here] followed the two-stage approach favoured by the courts of Hong Kong and the BVI, under which the Court first considers in private whether or not to grant a seal and gag order, before later considering (at a hearing on notice to the third party only, but under the protection of the seal and gag order) the substantive disclosure application. Bryan J’s second judgment [here] comprehensively analyses and applies the Court’s jurisdiction under the Norwich Pharmacal regime and the Court’s Section 37 Senior Courts Act 1981/inherent jurisdiction to grant third-party disclosure orders to enable a claimant effectively to police freezing injunctions.

George Hayman KC and Duncan McCombe are instructed for the Claimant by Fraser Mitchell and Ben Smith of Lewis Silkin.