1. (a) Unless public access is otherwise constrained by applicable authority, any attorney or any unrepresented party who files a document pursuant to these rules shall comply with the requirements of Sections 7.0 and 8.0 of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (‘‘Public Access Policy’’). In accordance with the Policy, the filing shall include a certification of compliance with the Policy and, as necessary, a Confidential Information Form or a Confidential Document Form.

2. (b) Unless an appellate court orders otherwise, case records or documents that are sealed by a court, government unit, or other tribunal shall remain sealed on appeal.

   Comment

   Paragraph (a)—‘‘Applicable authority’’ includes but is not limited to statute, procedural rule, or court order. The Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (‘‘Public Access Policy’’) can be found at https://www.pacourts.us/public-records. Sections 7.0(D) and 8.0(D) of the Public Access Policy provide that the certification shall be in substantially the following form:

   I certify that this filing complies with the provisions of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania that require filing confidential information and documents differently than non-confidential information and documents.

   Appropriate forms can be found at https://www.pacourts.us/public-records. For certification of the Reproduced Record and Supplemental Reproduced Record in compliance with the Public Access Policy, see Pa.R.A.P. 2152, 2156, 2171, and accompanying notes.

   Paragraph (b)—Once a document is sealed, it shall remain sealed on appeal unless the appellate court orders, either sua sponte or on application, that the case record or document be opened.

Source

The provisions of this Rule 127 adopted January 5, 2018, effective January 6, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 461; amended June 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 3517; amended December 1, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7618. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (396035).