UPC member states to vote on full access to judgments - JUVE Patent

"On 8 July, the UPC [Unified Patent Court] Administrative Committee will vote on the final draft of the Rules of Procedure, proposing public access to all judgments and orders. ...

Participating EU member states first signed off on the Unified Patent Court in 2013. However, ongoing GDPR developments have threatened the transparency of its administration and judicial output. Now a revised final version of the UPC Rules of Procedure stipulates that the public will have access to the content of all decisions and orders.

Judges will remain responsible for redacting any confidential or personal data before formally issuing the decision or order.

The proposals follow multiple professional bodies demanding that, in the interest of transparency, the Rules of Procedure should stipulate full public access to all documents. As such, the committee will consider the Rules of Procedure revisions, along with issues such as which judges will preside over UPC cases, on and from 8 July 2022. All in all, the day will be crucial for the court’s development...."