TNAG-1101-FCO40-1351-Legislation-on-homosexuality-in-Hong-Kong-including--Report--1981 — Page 514

律政司署

中區政府合署(座)

* OUR Ref.:

來函檔號 YOUR REF.:

IH TEL. No.:

R. D. Clift, Esq.

© Enter

PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL

Enter & mark refs

LEGAL DEPARTMENT,

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES,

(MAIN WING),

HONG KONG.

Aussenle Mr. Williamson 7198

I old probably

12 August 1981

22

KKK 380 | get in touch with Mr. Blake's P.S.

Hong Kong and General Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH

No

ла

Dps peronal letter pl

Ар

Mas 58 pas 2018

Mavi D 19/2

Dear Dick.

Re: MacLennan case: Mr. Blaker's libel action

against "Private Eye"

[16]

See

I refer to your letter of the 15th of July, 1981 addressed to the Attorney General which has been referred to me for considera- tion and reply. I apologise for not answering earlier.

We have considered the copies of documents attached to your letter and, for our part, have no objection to them being produced in discovery but in respect of two items I would request that discovery be made only upon an undertaking to respect confidentiality. The items concerned are :-

(2)

28

Зі

Folio

(a) telegram No. 609 dated the 6th of May, 1980; and

(b)

15) 1980 File

Folio

HKK 380/3.

the Memorandum of the 7th of May, 1980.

on 1980 FILE

#RK 38013

For our part, I do not consider that a full claim to Crown Privilege would be justified since these documents may be vital to the case of the Plaintiff or the Defendant. However, I would be very disturbed if these documents were used for any collateral purpose by the Defendant.

This particular Defendant does not enjoy a reputation for responsible journalism and I feel that in this case stringent protection against publication must be taken. In the case of Church of Scientology of California v. Department of Health and Social Security and Others 1979 7 3 All E.R. 97 the Court of Appeal held that the High Court has an "inherent jurisdiction to ensure that the ambit of discovery was not wider than necessary to dispose fairly of the action or to prevent conduct which might amount to an abuse of the process of the court or a contempt" and "a general power to

PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL

/ impose restrictions