TNAG-0929-FCO40-1147-Protection-of-Trading-Interests-Bill-extension-to-Dependent--1980 — Page 62

to the circumstances in which a United Kingdom court may not compel the

giving of evidence requested by an overseas court. These circumstances

are where a requirement as described in subsection (1) (a) is made other-

wise than for the purpose of civil or criminal proceedings which have been

instituted in the overseas country; or where it is made wholly or mainly

for the purpose of obtaining discovery of documents in such proceedings.

9.

Subsection (4) contains provisions parallel to those of Clause 1(5).

It provides that directions given under subsection (1) may be either gene-

ral or special, and may prohibit compliance with any requirement 'either

absolutely or subject to conditions specified in the directions. General

directions issued under subsection (1) are required to be published in such

manner as appears to the Secretary of State to be appropriate..

10.

The sub-

Subsection (5) deals with the case where the provisions of the clause

may be otherwise inapplicable because an overseas authority merely requests

a person or persons in the UK for the production of documents or the pro-

vision of information falling short of a requirement supported by the national

law of the country from which it comes. The subsection provides that for

the purposes of Clause 2 the making of a request or demand is to be treated

as the imposition of a requirement if a requirement to the same effect

could be or could have been imposed in the same circumstances.

section also deals with the case where a person amenable to the jursidiction

of an overseas country requests information from a person within the United

Kingdom pursuant to a requirement of a court in an overseas country. The

subsection particularly has in mind the case of a request coming from a

holding company overseas to its subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Any

request or demand for the supply of a document or information which is

addressed to a person in the United Kingdom pursuant to the requirement of

a court, tribunal or authority of an overseas country is to be treated as