In English legal proceedings, a confidentiality club (also known as confidentiality ring) is an agreement occasionally reached by parties to a

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

to reduce the risk of

confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, law ...

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". Confidentiality rings or clubs were described in 2012 as being increasingly common; the case report on Roche Diagnostics Ltd. v Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, a

public procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the purchase of goods, works (construction) or services by the state, such as by a government agency or a state-owned enterprise. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of GDP ...

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.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

References

Information sensitivity Law of the United Kingdom {{UK-law-stub

See also

References