Lord Young said: ‘everyone giving evidence in a Court of justice, being admissible as a witness, and answering the questions which are properly put to him, which those allowed by the Court are presumed to be, is privileged, and that it is in the interests of justice, and the public for whom justice is administered, that he should not give his answers under any apprehension of being liable to an action of damages should his evidence be defamatory of anyone, whether a party to the action or not. The ground upon which that rule of law is founded your Lordship has explained, and it is indeed obvious. It is in the interests of the public that the truth should be ascertained in a Court of justice, and that witnesses should give their evidence without any such apprehension or fear.’
Judges:
Lord Young
Citations:
[1904] ScotCS CSIH – 6, (1904) 7 F 22, (1904) 12 SLT 395
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Cited by:
Appeal from – Watson v M’Ewan HL 1905
A claim was brought against a medical witness in respect of statements made in preparation of a witness statement and similar statements subsequently made in court. The appellant was a doctor of medicine who had been retained by the respondent in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Defamation
Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.279264