114 / 328
a statement about Crown privilege for documents
and oral evidence in the course ot which he referred
to the practice regarding the production in civil
cases of statements made to the police, and indicated
that in some cases it was necessary to make a claim
of privilege for such statements.
The present position, he said yesterday, was that
in general privilege was claimed by a Minister's
certificate or affidavit for statements made to the
police in the course of a criminal investigation unless
the maker of the statement consented to production
or had died.
He continued : " I am now able to announce two
modifications of the practice :
the first is
that
privilege will not be claimed in proceedings for
malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest, and other
proceedings against the police where the justification
for the prosecution, arrest, or other police action is
an issue in the proceedings, unless the disclosure of
the statement would reveal the identity of a police
informer."
" The second modification relates to the manner
of claiming privilege for statements made to the
police. The claim of privilege will still be made on
the ground of public interest, but it is proposed that
in future the claim should be made without a Min
ister's certificate or affidavit and that the court
should be left to decide, having regard to the
principles laid down in the cases whether the state
ments should be produced."
" In the case of tribunals other than courts, how
ever, the claim will continue to be supported, where
necessary, by a Minister's certificate or affidavit."
The Lord Chancellor added that nothing he had
said was intended to apply to Scotland where the
existing practice did not require any change.
Lord Silkin said this was not a far-reaching
improvement but was a step in the right direction.
A body of practice was being gradually built up
which it might be somewhat difficult for the legal
practitioner to discover. What steps were being
taken to give publicity to the new practice ? Was it
possible to incorporate it in some document such as a
White Paper so that it would be readily available to
those who on occasions might make use of it ?
Lord Kilmuir said he would certainly consider all
possible methods and those which seemed most
helpful to the profession would be taken.
("
The Times "—9th March, 1962.)
LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS
List of books ordered in Library to April,
1962.
A.—BOOKS PURCHASED OR ON ORDER
Barrett & McCann—
~Latv of the Labourers and the
Labourers' question,
1906 ; Bingham—
All the modern
cases of negligence,
1961 ; Boland and Sayer—
Oaths
and Affirmations,
znd Edn., 1961.
Coleman—
An Employer's Duties at Common Law
in Ireland,
1961 ; Cordery—
Law relating to Solicitors
5th Edn., 1961 ;
Criminal Case and Comment,
1960 ;
Crotty—
District Court Practice,
1960 fsecond copy),
Deane & Spurling—
Elements of Conveyancing,
4th Edn., 1925 ; Delany—
The Law of Charities in
Ireland,
2nd Edn., 1962 (two copies).
English and Empire Digest—
Replacements Volume
6 (Bills of Exchange and negotiable instruments)
1961 ; —Volume 7 (Bills of Sale to Burials), 1961 ;
Volume i (Action to Agency), 1961 ; Volume 19
(Easements
to Education), 1962;
English and
Empire Digest
—Third cumulative supplement, 1961 ;
Evans (Basil)—
Buying and selling a house,
3rd Edn.,
1961.
Fitzgerald (Garrett)—
State Sponsored bodies,
1961;
Fleming—
Law of Torts,
1961 ; Glover—
Registration
of Ownership of Land in Ireland,
1933 ; Grogan—
Administrative
Tribunals
in
the
Public
Service,
1961 ; Griffiths—
Law relating to bankruptcy, Deeds
of Arrangement, Receivership and Trusteeships,
yth
Edn., 1961.
Harrison and Hillman—
Book-keeping and Account
ancy for Solicitors,
ist Edn., 1960 ; Halsbury—
Laws
of England,
Simonds Edn., Vol. 33 (Revenue and
Road Traffic), 1961 ; Vol. 34 (Sale of Goods to
Sheriffs), 1961 ; Vol. 35 (Shipping and Navigation),
1961 ; Vol. 36 ('Solicitors to Telegraphs), 1961;
Horan—
Courts of Justice Act,
1924 (second copy);
Horan—
Circuit Court Practice,
1932 (second copy).
Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for
England and Wales—
Consolidated Index of Law
Reports and Weekly Law Reports,
1951-60; Incor
porated Council of Law reporting for Ireland—
Digest of reported Irish Law Cases
(1949-58), ed.
R. A. Harrison (two copies), 1961 ;
Ireland—
Commission on Emigration and Population Problems,
1948-54 ;
Ireland—
Commission on Income Taxation,
First to Sixth reports bound together, 1961 ;
Irish
Catholic Directory,
1962.
Jackson & Gossett—
Investigation of title,
4th edn.;
1922, extra copy;
James—
Law of Torts,
1960!
(second copy);
Jones—
British Nationality,
1947;
Josling—
Periods of Limitation,
2nd Edn., 1960,
Keeton—
Trial by Tribunal,
1960; Kelly—
Funda
mental rights in the Irish Law and Constitution,
1961.
Law List,
1961.
Maurice (Spencer)—
The (English) Charities Acti
1960; Mayne & McGregor—
Law of Damages,
12th Edn., 1961 ; Maxwell—
The Interpretation of
Statutes,
nth Edn., 1962; Munkman—
Employer's
Liability at Common Law,
4th Edn., 1961.
Nathan—
Equity through the cases,
4th Edn., 1961;
106