Day 246 - 09 May 96 - Page 11
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2 MS. STEEL: I am sorry, are we at the bottom of the page?
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4 MR. RAMPTON: "Communications privileged only when litigation is
5 contemplated or pending", this litigation was pending.
6 That is for the Defendants's benefit, legally it is for
7 saying litigation is in existence. "Solicitors and
8 non-professional agent or third party communications"----
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10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not go so fast, please. It may be obvious
11 to you, but I may be learning something.
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13 MR. RAMPTON: Sorry.
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15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not always learn very quickly.
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17 MR. RAMPTON: No. I will start again: "Solicitors and
18 non-professional agent or third party. Communications
19 between a solicitor and a non-professional agent or a third
20 party, directly, or through an agent, which come into
21 existence after litigation has contemplated or commenced
22 and made with a view to such litigation, either for the
23 purpose of obtaining or giving advice in regard to, or of
24 obtaining or collecting evidence to be used in it, or
25 obtaining information, which may lead to the obtainment of
26 such evidence are privileged", and then, my Lord, there is
27 a host of authority with which your Lordship will probably
28 be familiar going back at least for more than 100 years.
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30 Then there is about litigation in a foreign court. Then,
31 my Lord, further, on the other side of the page, opposite
32 page, 24, 5, 9: "Client and non-professional agent or
33 third party. The general principle is that documents
34 embodying communications with, including reports to or from
35 a non-professional servant agent or third party, are
36 privileged if and only if coming into existence for the
37 purpose of obtaining legal advice in existing or
38 anticipated proceedings."
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40 Then there is the well known case of Seabolt v British
41 Transport Commission is cited. But, my Lord, for the
42 purposes of this particular application, it is the first of
43 those passages which is the important one, because what was
44 blanked out was legal advice communicated to the client or
45 to the client's agent, Scope, in contemplation of these
46 existing proceedings for, but one might rather say,
47 assistance in the conduct of these proceedings and their
48 activities in relation to these proceedings.
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50 I have said already said that a good deal of the material
51 that was blanked out was not relevant.
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53 MS. STEEL: As far as I can see, the first one that Mr. Rampton
54 read out: "Communications 24/5/8, communications privileged
55 only when litigation is contemplated or pending, solicitors
56 and non-professional agent or third party," talks about, in
57 the fourth line, it has got about communications before
58 then, "either for the purposes of obtaining or giving
59 advice in regard to it or of obtaining or collecting
60 evidence to be used in it, or of obtaining information
