HC Deb 23 October 1968 vol 770 c1407

Lords Amendment No. 17: In page 10, line 27, at end insert: (2C) The clerk of any court having custody of any document shall, on the application of any person who wishes to rely, by virtue of section 10(2), section 11(2) or section 12(2) of this Act or any corresponding provision for the time being in force in any part of the United Kingdom outside Scotland, on the contents of that document in proceedings which he proposes to raise, or which are pending, in any court in the United Kingdom, and on payment by that person of such fee as may be prescribed by act of adjournal or act of sedurunt, as the case may be, made with the approval of the Treasury, issue to that person a copy of that document, or of the material part thereof, certified or otherwise authenticated by or on behalf of the court.

Mr. Buchan

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.

Subsection (2)(c) which the Amendment proposes to introduce into Clause 13 is necessary to ensure that Clauses 10 to 12 in the original Bill work smoothly. Hon. Members will remember that these are the Clauses which allow the admissibility in future civil proceedings of the findings of the court in earlier criminal and other types of civil cases. The purpose of the new subsection is to enable litigants or prospective litigants to obtain copies of the relevant documents relating to an earlier case from the clerks of the courts who have custody of them. The Lord President of the Court of Session who has been consulted on this by the Lord Advocate is satisfied that this will meet the needs of the situation.

Question put and agreed to.

Remaining Lords Amendments agreed and disagreed to.

Committee appointed to draw up Reasons to be assigned to the Lords for disagreeing to certain of their Amendments to the Bill: Mr. Buchan, Mr. Oswald, Mr. Ross, Mr. Wylie and Mr. Younger; three to be the quorum.—[Mr. Ross.]

To withdraw immediately.

Reasons for disagreeing to certain of the Lords Amendments reported and agreed to; to be communicated to the Lords.