in camera

In camera (Latin: "in a chamber")^[1] is a legal term meaning "in private".^[1] It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.

In camera describes court cases (or portions thereof) to which the public and press are not admitted.^[1] In camera is the opposite of trial in open court where all the parties and witnesses testify in a public courtroom, and attorneys make their arguments in public to the trier of fact.

Entire cases may be heard in camera when, for example, matters of national security are involved. In camera reviews may also be used during otherwise open trials - for example, to protect trade secrets or where one party asserts privilege (such as attorney-client privileged communications). This allows the judge the opportunity to review the document in private before determining its admissibility in open court.

In camera may also be used to describe closed board meetings which cover information not reflected in the minutes and not available to the public. Such sessions may discuss personnel, financial or other sensitive decisions that must be kept secret (for example, a proposed merger or strategic change which the organization does not yet want competitors to know about).

See also

• In limine
• United States v. The Progressive — a case where two trials were held simultaneously, one in camera and one public

Alternate meaning

In Camera is also one of the possible translations of the title of Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist play Huis Clos, a French legal term with the same meaning.

References