A newspaper that won the right to challenge the secrecy surrounding a multi-million pound civil court case has been temporarily barred from its own application hearing.

The Jersey Evening Post is arguing for the lifting, in the interests of open justice, of reporting restrictions on a civil action involving the Arab state of Qatar relating to millions of pounds deposited in three Jersey-registered trusts.

But during the legal challenge – a fight for press freedom – it was decided to move part of the proceedings into private after an application by the Qatar advocate John Kelleher.

The decision was made by Jersey Bailiff Sir Philip Bailhache, the island’s most senior judge, and all members of the press and the Jersey Evening Post’s own advocate, Mr Santos-Costa, were ordered to leave the court.

The court was told this was necessary while Qatar presented its argument for why the reporting restrictions must remain on grounds of national security.

The civil action as a whole was shrouded in secrecy after Sir Philip agreed to hear it in camera with the press and public barred. Reporting restrictions were imposed following a front-page article about the existence of the proceedings and the secrecy surrounding them last November.

The case was discontinued in May but the Post has continued its legal challenge in order to obtain access to the court papers and transcripts of the hearings.

Qatar’s minister for foreign affairs had tried to stop the Post’s representation being heard, arguing that because the civil court case had been discontinued reporting restrictions on it cannot be lifted.

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