Non-Party Access to Court Documents in the CAT and the High Court

In this blog entry for The Thicket, authors Anthony Ojukwu & Matthew Tweddell (Geradin Partners) explain the evolving rules governing non-party access to court documents in competition litigation. They highlight the importance of open justice, noting that access to pleadings, witness statements, and expert reports can provide valuable insight for future litigants while allowing the public to scrutinize the administration of justice. In England and Wales, two key procedural frameworks govern access: paragraph 9.66 of the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) Guide to Proceedings and CPR 5.4C in the High Court.

The authors focus first on the CAT’s recent decision in Sportradar v Football DataCo, which has provided a clearer framework for paragraph 9.66 applications. The CAT held that applicants must demonstrate a “good reason” or “legitimate interest,” although the threshold is low. Statements of case and skeleton arguments occupy the strongest position and are effectively accessible as a matter of course, while access to other documents depends on factors including their nature, timing, contribution to open justice, the applicant’s motives, confidentiality, and the burden on the producing party.

The High Court has similarly developed a broad approach to access. Under CPR 5.4C, non-parties can generally obtain statements of case, judgments, and orders without permission, while the wider principle of open justice can justify access to documents outside those expressly covered by the rules. The authors also highlight Practice Direction 51ZH, introduced in January 2026, which establishes a pilot scheme making written submissions, witness statements, and expert reports used or referred to at public hearings in certain courts available through the public CE-File portal without requiring a separate application.

Looking ahead, the authors identify a broad convergence between the CAT and High Court approaches. Statements of case and skeleton arguments are at the top of the accessibility hierarchy, while witness statements and expert reports are increasingly available where they have been deployed in public proceedings. Exhibits, hearing bundles, and other disclosed materials remain subject to a more demanding balancing exercise. For prospective applicants, Sportradar provides a practical roadmap for demonstrating why access is necessary; for parties to competition litigation, the message is that documents placed before a court in open proceedings may ultimately be scrutinized by regulators, competitors, and future claimants, even after a case settles…

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