Open Court Principle and Respecting Privacy: Granting Anonymity and Restricting Access to Case Files in Constitutional Court Review Procedure

This paper discusses the right to privacy in the context of a constitutional review procedure that typically enjoys a high degree of publicity. In presenting how the Constitutional Court of Latvia is balancing the open court principle against the parties’ right to remain anonymous and to have restricted access to case files in the constitutional review procedure (which might be capable of disclosing the parties’ identities), the point of departure is that the open court principle is crucial in raising awareness of court proceedings and promoting public trust in courts. However, any individual filing a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court is seeking protection of his or her fundamental rights. In this context, the Constitutional Court must, as far as possible, vindicate infringed fundamental rights of the person while at the same time refraining from causing applicants and third parties any new infringements of fundamental rights, especially the right to privacy.