Official secrets

The government creates, re-uses and receives information on a daily basis to carry out the functions of Parliament, the executive and judiciary. Some of this information can be construed as confidential, attracting protection from disclosure, such as:

  1. records of meetings—official records of opinions and information shared at internal meetings

  2. employee data—contact details, pay and benefits, performance and absence

  3. trade secrets—information divulged to government as part of procurement processes and consultation

  4. intelligence—on international and national affairs within the police and intelligence agencies

  5. patient records—within the NHS information on patients’ illnesses, treatment and check ups

Some information held by the government may damage national security if disclosed to the public and is therefore classified. This subtopic considers some of the key legal issues concerning confidential and classified information, focussing on the protection of official secrets.

Official secrets

The Official Secrets Acts (the Official Secrets Act 1911 and the Official Secrets Act 1989) protect government secrets which would damage national security if made available to the general public. Based on the principle that information which the government needs to collect, store, process, generate or

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The construction of jurisdiction clauses in the context of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 and the mechanisms of service(Campeau v Gottex Real Asset Fund 1 (OE) Waste S.À.R.L)

Dispute Resolution analysis: This case considers a jurisdictional clause in the context of service under CPR 6.33(2B)(b), which allows service out of the jurisdiction where the defendant is party to a jurisdiction clause. There is no corresponding requirement for the claimant to be a party to that jurisdiction clause. The starting point is that jurisdiction clauses are not generally intended to concern disputes with third parties. However, that is no more than a starting point and one which can be departed from in appropriate cases. This was one such appropriate case whereby the circumstances and construction of the clause led to the finding that it did include the third party claimant’s (Mr Campeau) claim. While not strictly necessary given the judge’s findings in relation to the construction of the clause, Mr Justice Butcher considered that, where a jurisdictional clause was wide enough to encompass disputes from third parties, then it will likely also amount to a ‘relevant term’ for the purposes of section 1(4) of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (C(RTP)A 1999). That meant that the third party, in seeking to enforce their rights under the SPA, was statutorily obliged to do so in England and so could rely upon CPR 6.33 (2B) (b) in that respect also. Written by Georgia Whiting, legal counsel (contentious construction) at Capita.

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