Ruling of the President, sitting alone, on the admissibility of a witness statement filed on behalf of T-Mobile, an intervener in the proceedings, which contained information that the appellant alleged was “without prejudice”.
The President held that the “without prejudice” rule is not intended to cover the mere fact that an approach has been made from one party to another in an attempt to enter into negotiations.
Insofar as the witness statement only indicated that such an approach had been made it did not fall within the “without prejudice” rule. Furthermore, the witness statements contained material that might have been relevant to other facts in issue in the proceedings. The Tribunal would require considerable persuasion to exclude potentially relevant material unless the application of the “without prejudice” rule was clearly established. Accordingly the witness statement was found to be admissible.