Bobby Talalay and John Goss appear in the High Court in case concerning advocates’ and witness immunity

Bobby Talalay appeared for the First Respondent Chief Constable of Sussex Police and John Goss appeared for the Second Respondent Crown Prosecution Service in an appeal concerning the extent of the immunity of words said by an advocate on their feet in court and the extent to which that applies to the police in preparing the court file for the CPS advocate: XGY v (1) Chief Constable of Sussex Police & (2) CPS [2024] EWHC 1963 (KB).

The appeal arose from a civil claim concerning the revelation of a victim’s address, which was unknown to her assailant, in his bail hearing by the CPS advocate. The victim’s address had been included in the prosecutor’s file and the advocate was not made aware that it was not to be revealed. The victim, XGY, brought a civil claim under the DPA 2018, in the tort of misuse of private information, and under the HRA 1998 by reference to articles 2, 3 and 8 ECHR. The judge at first instance struck out the entirety of the claim against both Defendants on the basis that they were immune from suit for things said in court by an advocate, and that extended to the police in preparing the court file. She also gave the Defendants summary judgment that XGY was not a victim for the purposes of s.7 of the HRA.

XGY appealed and Ritchie J in the High Court allowed the appeal on all grounds. Making important and novel conclusions, he determined that the authorities demonstrated a shift from absolutism (where the words spoken by an advocate in court were immune by their function) to a requirement to show justification that the particular words said could be justified against the purpose of immunity. He also allowed the appeal against the summary judgment decision.

The ruling marks a departure from centuries of authority, going back to at least 1585, and raises important questions of whether court advocates now have immunity for the things they say in Court and how to approach that question in any given case.

Bobby Talalay was instructed on behalf of the Chief Constable of Sussex.

John Goss was instructed on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.

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Related barristers

Robert Talalay

Call 2010

John Goss

Call 2015

Related areas

Information Law

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Data Protection

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Police Law

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