TNAG-2654-FCO40-3847-Extradition-cases-from-the-UK-and-France-to-Hong-Kong-Lorrai-1992 — Page 144

ASSA

A

B

inspecting the documents, ruled that the documents should not be

disclosed but indicated that reasons for this ruling would be

given in the course of this judgment.

In coming to the conclusion that production should not be

ordered both on the grounds of relevance and public interest

immunity, the court was influenced by the following factors:

C

!

1. That both of Mr. Osman's applications are based on the

court's supervisory and not originating jurisdiction.

When the court is exercising its supervisory jurisdiction,

discovery is not given as a matter of course, but is given

in limited circumstances when the applicant shows that the

disclosure is reasonably necessary for disposing fairly of

the proceedings.

D

E

F

ידי

G

H

In

2. The court had already inspected the Hong Kong

counterparts of communications passing between the Hong

Kong Government and the United Kingdom Government and had

come to the conclusion that those documents were

unnecessary for disposing fairly of the proceedings.

those circumstances it was highly unlikely that the copies

of those documents in the possession of the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office would be any more probative. The lack

of evidential value of the documents which were inspected

also reflected on the merits of the whole application.

indicated that the application had at least some of the

qualities of a "fishing expedition".

It

3. Prime facie, at any rate, the claim for public

interest immunity was properly established by the

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