No entitlement to disclosure of documents containing trade secrets as evidence in legal proceedings

Elmatica AS is engaged in a legal dispute with its former procurement manager and his current employer, the competing company Confidee AS. In the case before the Oslo District Court, Elmatica requested the disclosure of an unredacted document which could shed light on whether the protection of trade secrets had been violated. The opposing parties objected to the request, as the document contained trade secrets. The District Court denied access to the unredacted document, and the Court of Appeal dismissed Elmatica’s appeal against that ruling.

Following a review of relevant legal sources, including an advisory opinion from the EFTA Court, the Supreme Court stated that a balanced assessment had to be made between the need to clarify the case and the interest in maintaining confidentiality. The trial must be assessed as a whole, and any limitations on the right to adversarial proceedings and equality of arms must be adequately compensated by other due process safeguards. Access to evidence must not be restricted in a manner that interferes with the core of the right to a fair trial. Within these parameters, national legal systems are free to establish rules governing access to evidence.

Because the proceedings must be assessed in their entirety, the Supreme Court found no grounds to review the individual application of the law regarding access to the unredacted document.

Elmatica AS’s appeal was dismissed.

Read the order from the Supreme Court (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Area of law: Civil procedure

Key paragraphs: 61–64

Justices: Øie, Arntzen, Berg, Stenvik, Sivertsen