The Queensland Court of Appeal held that the principle of open justice cannot be departed from merely to protect a party from social stigma, discrimination, embarrassment or other 'collateral disadvantage' arising from publicity of their medical condition (including HIV/AIDS status). Exceptions to open justice are confined to cases where openness would deprive the proceedings of practical utility by preventing the effective enforcement of substantive law. The developing practice in other Australian jurisdictions of granting suppression orders for HIV-positive plaintiffs was not followed.
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