P.R. Laws Ap. tit. 32A, § III, Rule 62.2
(a) All hearings upon the merits of a case shall be conducted in open court in a courtroom, unless the court decides otherwise due to the nature of the proceeding. Hearings and other proceedings of cases of dissolution of marriage, parent-child relations, filiation, adoption, child support, patria potestas and custody and guardianship shall be conducted in private, so that the public does not hear testimonies and other procedures, except when one of the parties requests otherwise. Likewise, information about files of the cases of dissolution of marriage, parent-child relations, filiation, adoption, child support, patria potestas and custody and guardianship, as well as copies thereof, may only be shown or furnished to persons with a legitimate interest, or to other persons through a court order and for a justified cause. Said copies shall only be furnished, upon presentation of evidence of necessity and the express authorization of the court, to officials of the General Court of Justice in their official capacity and to those persons of accredited professional or scientific reputation that show evidence of their interest to obtain information to perform their official duties, studies or work, and always subject to the conditions stipulated by the judge. All other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted by a judge in chambers, or in any other place, without the attendance of the clerk or of other officials.
(b) The following shall be persons with legitimate interest:
(1) The parties in the case and their heirs.
(2) The attorneys of the parties in the case.
(3) The notaries that authorize public documents from whose face or content it arises that the judicial document is a complementary document to the public instrument issued by same; as well as the circumstances in which the notaries are required copies of the judicial document for the correction of errors or faults notified by the Honorable Registrar of the Property.
(4) Any other person that one of the parties in the case has authorized by means of a sworn statement.
The aforementioned persons shall not have to submit a request to the Court to be allowed access to the judicial files.
Other persons who wish to review the files or obtain a copy of the documents in the same in those cases referred to in Act No. 70, shall have to submit a request before the Court through which they shall show the causes that justify their examination of said files.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico shall take the necessary administrative measures to comply with the provisions set forth herein.
History —Dec. 30, 1998, No. 329, § 1; Apr. 20, 2000, No. 70, § 1; Sept. 2, 2003, No. 227, § 1.