ABSTRACT
Disclosure will not be ordered under the Norwich Pharmacal rule where the defendant was a mere witness or observer who was not implicated in the wrongdoing. The question as to whether the defendant was mixed up in the wrongdoing or whether he was a mere witness may be a difficult one to decide. In Ricci v Chow,40 for example, the official journal of the Seychelles National Movement had published an article alleging that the claimant, in collaboration with others, had procured the assassination of a prominent member of the party. The claimant brought an action for damages for libel against the defendant, the secretary general of the party, on the ground that the defendant was responsible for the publication, or alternatively for an order that he should divulge the identities of the persons responsible. It was held that the case was not within the Norwich Pharmacal principle since the defendant had in no way facilitated the printing and publication of the article, unwittingly or otherwise, and the mere fact that he was aware of the identities of the alleged tortfeasors could not justify an order for disclosure at common law, even if his evidence was the only means by which they could be identified. The defendant was a mere witness or observer in relation to the publication and he had no involvement in the alleged libel; he was therefore not susceptible to an action for disclosure.
