Sep 6, 2026 · 57 min · 11 segments
In this episode, Foley's barrister Nawaar Hassan examines the Harman obligation and the restrictions it places on using documents and information obtained through litigation. Through practical…
Nawaar HassanGuestPodcast HostHost
Documents obtained in litigation can be useful for other purposes for any litigant, for example, for PR purposes, or there might be satellite disputes.
But in government, the issue really comes to the fore because different branches of government can have a keen interest in a person's private information that they disgorge in the process of litigation.
So for example, For the purposes of resisting a freezing order application, a person might put forward evidence that they own certain property beneficially, but they may have previously declared for the purposes of minimising land tax or stamp duty that it was held on trust.
That information might be very interesting to tax authorities who may wish to reassess the tax liability.
In another example, evidence in a proceeding may reveal certain information that's relevant to the assessment of certain licenses that a person or entity might have.
And so the licensing authority might wish to use that information to cancel or refuse to renew a license.
And so it's precisely at that moment where that information becomes relevant that you need to stop and think about the harm and obligation.
The harm and obligation is also sometimes referred to as the hern and street obligation, or sometimes it's just referred to generally as the implied undertaking.
Breach of the obligation is a contempt of court, so you do need to be very careful.
Conversely, there might be times where litigation requires a government agency to produce sensitive information.
And if you're acting for that agency, you need to be careful that you don't produce it in a way that it will not be protected by Harmon.
And you need to be conscious of the circumstances where that protection might come to an end.
The aim of this presentation is to help you understand how the obligation applies, what its limits are, and where the grey areas are.
The principles in the field of administrative law are no different to any other areas.
So what I'm planning to do today is collect for you some examples that are relevant to administrative law to illustrate how it might apply in that area.
Documents obtained in litigation can be useful for other purposes for any litigant, for example, for PR purposes, or there might be satellite disputes.
But in government, the issue really comes to the fore because different branches of government can have a keen interest in a person's private information that they disgorge in the process of litigation.
So for example, For the purposes of resisting a freezing order application, a person might put forward evidence that they own certain property beneficially, but they may have previously declared for the purposes of minimising land tax or stamp duty that it was held on trust.
That information might be very interesting to tax authorities who may wish to reassess the tax liability.
In another example, evidence in a proceeding may reveal certain information that's relevant to the assessment of certain licenses that a person or entity might have.
And so the licensing authority might wish to use that information to cancel or refuse to renew a license.
And so it's precisely at that moment where that information becomes relevant that you need to stop and think about the harm and obligation.
The harm and obligation is also sometimes referred to as the hern and street obligation, or sometimes it's just referred to generally as the implied undertaking.
Breach of the obligation is a contempt of court, so you do need to be very careful.
Conversely, there might be times where litigation requires a government agency to produce sensitive information.
And if you're acting for that agency, you need to be careful that you don't produce it in a way that it will not be protected by Harmon.
And you need to be conscious of the circumstances where that protection might come to an end.
The aim of this presentation is to help you understand how the obligation applies, what its limits are, and where the grey areas are.
The principles in the field of administrative law are no different to any other areas.
So what I'm planning to do today is collect for you some examples that are relevant to administrative law to illustrate how it might apply in that area.
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