Spotlight has worked extensively to advocate for open justice both at a policy level and through daily interactions and applications in the courts. On a policy level, we worked closely with the Legal Education Foundation and other partners to get the government to commit to an Open Justice action plan as part of the Open Government Partnership. This work contributed to an environment in which the government launched a central public registry of court judgements at the National Archives. Our recommendation for better access to court documents was recently taken up by the Justice Committee as one of their recommendations to government.
On a practical level, Spotlight on Corruption has diligently monitored and collected court documents in corruption cases, making numerous applications or supporting media applications for open justice over the course of the last three years. Spotlight now has excellent relations with court staff, and is recognised in the courts as a regular and legitimate public interest group thanks to the development of our unique court monitoring programme. This programme allows us to analyse the implications of developments in the courts for UK anti-corruption policy and enforcement, and provides the evidence base for making innovative policy recommendations for reform.