Editor's Note

The ability and continued willingness of the English High Court to grant injunctions (Norwich Pharmacals) forcing third parties to divulge otherwise confidential or private information, which claimants need in order to identify either a defendant or the whereabouts of stolen assets, means that the UK remains head and shoulders above any other jurisdiction when it comes to protecting victims of fraud or other wrong doing. With the paranoia (mostly unjustified) that most organisations have about releasing information which might expose them to Data Protection sanctions, the Norwich Pharmacal Order is often the only way that victims can secure the critical evidence they need in order to determine who has ripped them off or which Bank or other financial institution has been used to launder misappropriated monies.

My recent experience in obtaining Norwich's in places such as Cayman, BVI, Jamaica, Canada and Hong Kong has yet again reminded me of the huge respect with which all these (and other) common law jurisdictions treat decisions of the English Courts. The English judiciary's unflinching commitment and flexibility to adapt the Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction to deliver justice to victims of all wrongdoing where the critical evidence they need is in the hands of third parties who are reluctant or afraid to provide it, resonates both here and internationally. The recent decisions in the Mohamed Binyan Torture cases stand as a testament to this.

My thanks and admiration to Richard Trainer and Edwin Chik for their hard work and contributions to this issue.

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