Supermac’s statement on the High Court judgement in relation to CCTV evidence

Supermac’s welcomes the decision of Justice Barr in the High Court on Monday, November 16th, which upheld their right to refuse to share CCTV evidence prior to a court hearing of the case.

Supermac’s believes that the decision upheld by the High Court is a landmark decision and that it clarifies the position that the company cannot be compelled to hand over evidence in advance of a hearing, as Supermac’s had previously been instructed to do on several occasions by the Data Protection Commission. Supermac’s has always believed that claimants should not have an automatic right to discovery of CCTV footage prior to a court hearing of the case as previous experience suggests that certain claimants edit their previous submissions and statements of claim to align with the CCTV footage. Supermac’s strongly believes that claimants should state their case in detail, supported by sworn affidavit, prior to any CCTV footage being shared.

The decision of Justice Barr follows on from a ruling by Justice Raymond Groarke in the Circuit Court (Thursday, December 19th 2019) where he said that, on principle, it was wrong that any party should gain an advantage through discovery. Supermac’s successfully argued that the claimant’s description of the circumstances of an incident via affidavit, medical reports, legal instructions etc. differed from the Supermac’s version of events. The only evidence in support of Supermac’s defence was the CCTV footage. We are happy that both court decisions have ruled accordingly. This High Court judgement cannot be appealed.

This is a significant decision for businesses throughout the country and we would encourage businesses to study the ruling carefully and understand their rights to defend themselves.