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Breach of Confidence: Conflict of Public and Private Interests*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2016

Gareth Jones
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Type
Lionel Cohen Lecture
Information
Israel Law Review , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , Autumn 1985 , pp. 445 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and The Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1985

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References

1 See, for example: Food Act 1984, sec. 30; Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984, sec. 62; Energy Conservation Act 1981, sec. 20; Weights and Measures Act 1979, sec. 12.

2 However, the Confederation of British Industry did express its concern to the Law Commission that confidential information supplied to government and public authorities could come into the hands of trade competitors; Report on Breach of Confidence, No. 110, Cmnd. 8388, para. b. 48.

3 Department of the Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 351 (1976).

4 5 U.S.C.A. § 552 (b)(4), on which see (amongst many cases) Public Citizens Health Research Group v. Food and Drug Administration, 704 F 2d 1280 (D.C. Cir., 1983).

5 See the note in (1980) 32 Stan. L.R. 339 [Lebowitz].

6 35 L.S.I. 136.

7 See, for example, Tarasoff v. The Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425 (1976).

8 Gartside v. Outrant (1856) 26 L.J. Ch. 113, at 114, per Page Wood V.-C.

9 Tournier v. National Provincial and Union Bank of England [1924] 1 K.B. 461, at 486, per Atkin L.J.; see also at 473, per Bankes L.J.; at 481, per Scrutton L.J. For similar observations, see Weld-Blundell v. Stephens [1919] 1 K.B. 520, at 527, per Bankes L.J.; at 533, per Warrington L.J.

10 Malone v. Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (No. 2) [1979] 2 All E.R. 620.

11 Francome v. Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd. [1984] 2 All E.R. 408 (C.A.).

12 [1968] 1 Q.B. 396.

13 See particularly his observations at 405, which have been judicially approved on many occasions: e.g. British Steel Corporation v. Granada Television Ltd. [1981] A.C. 1096, at 1169–1170, per Lord Wilberforce.

14 [1984] 2 All E.R. 417 (C.A.).

15 [1969] 1 Q.B. 349, 362.

16 With Church of Scientology v. Kaufman [1973] R.P.C. 635, compare Schering Chemicals Ltd. v. Falkman [1982] Q.B.1.

17 Church of Scientology v. Kaufman, op. cit. supra n. 16 at 649, per Goff J.

18 416 U.S. 470(1974).

19 Ibid., at 481, per curiam (Burger C.J.).

20 Ibid., at 484, following Judge Friendly's opinion in Painton & Co. v. Bourns Inc., 442 F 2d 216 (C.A. 2 1971).

21 Law Commission's Report on Breach of Confidence, op. cit. supra n. 2 at para. 6.5 et seq.

22 Ante n. 18.

23 For a cogent criticism of the Law Commission's proposals, see Gurry, Francis, Breach of Confidence (Clarendon Press, 1984)Google Scholar, Appendix II.

24 [1967] 1 Ch. 302.

25 Cf., New York Times v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971).

26 Francome v. Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd., op. cit. supra n. 11 at 413, per Sir John Donaldson M.R.

27 Ante n. 24.

28 [1977] 1 W.L.R. 760.

29 Ibid., at 764.

30 Lennon v. News Group Newspapers Ltd. [1978] F.S.R. 573; Khassogi v. Smith (1980) 124 Sol. Jo. 149, C.A. Transcripts 58.

31 Gurry, op. cit. supra n. 23 at 338–339.

32 (1980) C.A. Transcripts 58.

33 In Attorney General v. Jonathan Cape [1976] Q.B. 752 Lord Widgery L.C.J. assumed that the burden was on the confidant. But that was a case where the question was whether a stale State secret could be protected: infra n. 37.

34 Supra n. 28.

35 Cf. New York Times v. Sullivan 376 U.S. 254 (1964) and Gertz v. Welch 418 U.S. 323 (1974).

36 This was apparently accepted by the Court of Appeal in Tournier v. National Provincial and Union Bank of England, op. cit. supra n. 9 at 473, per Bankes L.J.; at 481, per Scrutton L.J.; at 486, per Atkin L.J.

37 [1976] Q.B. 752.

38 Cf. Commonwealth of Australia v. John Fairfax & Sons Ltd. (1980) 147 C.L.R. 39, at 52, per Mason J.

39 Supra n. 13 at 1096.

40 Ibid., at 1169, per Lord Wilberforce.

41 Commonwealth of Australia v. John Fairfax & Sons Ltd., op. cit. supra n. 38, at 39.

42 Ibid., at 52, per Mason J.