STATE PAPERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 243, 13 October 1936, Page 11

STATE PAPERS.

PRODUCTION IN LITIGATION

COURT RULING UPHELD.

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, Monday

Judgment was delivered by Mr. Justice Ostler in the Court of Appeal today in the case in which an appeal was made against- the decision of the actingChief Justice, Sir John Reed,- directing that documents relating to the Gisborne Fire Board loan must be discovered by the Local Government Loans Board. Mr. Justice- Ostler said the appeal raised an important question as to the privilege possessed by the Crown of objecting to the production of State papers in litigation, on the ground that publication of the information contained in them would be contrary to the public interest. As this was an appeal from discretion exercised by the Court, it could not succeed unless is were shown that discretion had been exercised upon a wrong principle. In their Honors' opfnion, that had not been shown. The Court had done no more in this case than it had power to do, and a duty to do in the interests of justice. It had exercised its discretion in such a manner that the interests of the State could not possibly suffer, and in such a way as best to promote the interests of justice. In the opinion of the Court it could not be said in the circumstances that the decision appealed from was wrong, and therefore the appeal must be dismissed, with costs. The case arose out of consideration by the Loans Board of an application from the Gisborne Fire Board for the sanctioning of the latter authority's loan proposals. H. V. Lunken, a ratepayer of the Gisborne borough, brought an action in the Supreme Court for the discovery of the documents in the hands of the Loans Board respecting the application, and the Loans Board defended the action on the grounds that the documents were privileged and that their discovery would be against public policy. In his judgment Mr. Justice Reed directed that the documents must be discovered by the Loans Board.