Opening and closing hearings are straightforward affairs. At the hearing, the various parties, namely Counsel to the Inquiry and the barristers for the core participants, set out their opening or closing positions.
In an opening hearing, the statements and hearings are an opportunity for core participants to set out the topics and issues they hope the evidential hearings will explore. This often includes them providing personal context as to why an issue is significant or what they hope some of the witnesses will provide; it may also talk about the statements the core participants will bring to the proceedings.
They may also set out particular aspects of law which should be explored – for example, a core participant might want to draw attention to how a particular part of the Terms of Reference of the Inquiry should be interpreted.
In the Undercover Policing Inquiry, each tranche will have an associated hearing for opening statements but not necessarily one for closing statements. There were closing statements at the end of Tranche 1 because there was to be an Interim Report. In general, it is unclear if the Inquiry Chair will direct there to be closing statements at the end of the individual Tranches, something that remains at his discretion.
Closing hearings (as distinct from closed hearings) focus more on what has been heard, reflecting on what has been learned and highlights the points that the core participant wishes the Inquiry to pay attention to. It may also incorporate issues of law if necessary.
Counsel to the Inquiry and the various core participant barristers provide a written statement in advance which is then given in person – and made available to the public the same day. Usually, though not always necessarily, what is presented in person reflects closely the written statement. The written statement is in this case just a more detailed and footnoted version.
However, there are times in the oral part of the hearings when barristers will address points raised in statements of others. This is because it is standard practice for written statements to all be served at the same time.