Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 12:00 pm ar 29 Ionawr 2002.
Dominic Grieve
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
12:00,
29 Ionawr 2002
I am grateful to the Minister, and it is noteworthy that such a provision does not feature in ''Archbold''. That may be because it applies to some very narrow and limited circumstances in civil litigation. There is a reference in ''Archbold'' to the High Court, too. I am not happy about what we are doing. We may be extending substantially powers that would not have been used previously. I do not have section 2(9) in front of me, but it sounds that the provision may apply to far more restricted circumstances. I see that the Minister is being passed a note. Such a provision could open the door for people to say to lawyers, ''You have to tell us the name and address of the person who sought your advice.'' That troubles me.
My hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) pointed out that the purpose of legal and professional privilege is to help the person seeking the legal advice. He is right, but the issue goes further than that. The public policy view is that it is desirable for people to have free access to legal advice, and that is a slightly different concept.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
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