Report No. 185

Section 18

Section 18 deals with the relevancy of admission by party to proceeding or his agent; by suitor in representative character; by party interested in subject matter; by person from whom interest derived.

It reads as follows:

"Section 18. Admission by party to proceeding or his agent.- Statements made by a party to the proceeding, or by an agent to any such party, whom the Court regards, under the circumstances of the case, as expressly or impliedly authorized by him to make them, are admissions.

By suitor in representative character.- Statements made by parties to suits, suing or sued in a representative character, are not admissions, unless they were made while the party making them held that character.

Statements made b.-

(1) party interested in subject-matter.- Persons who have any proprietary or pecuniary interest in the subject-matter of the proceeding, and who make the statement in their character of persons so interested; or

(2) persons from whom interest derived.- Persons from whom the parties to the suit have derived their interest in the subjectmatter of the suit, are admissions, if they are made during the continuance of the interest of the persons making the statements."

In the 69th Report (see para 9.26) it was stated that section 18 requires changes partly (i) in expression (ii) in substance and (iii) in structure and arrangement.

The suggestions with which we fully agree, are mainly to split up para 1 into two parts, one dealing with admissions by parties and another with admissions by agents and to substitute the word "civil proceedings" for "suits". With regard to "representative character" or "proprietary or pecuniary interest", words are proposed to be added to say that the admissions must have been made during the continuance of the said character or interest. We are also of the view that in sub-section (1) the following words "subject to the other provisions of this section" be inserted at the beginning of the sub-section. With these changes which have been recommended, with which we agree, the section would read as follows:

"18. Admission by party to proceeding or his agent or by party interested in subject matter or by person from whom interest is derived- (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, statements made by a party to the proceeding which is against his interest are admissions.

(2) Such statements made by an agent to a party to the proceeding, whom the Court regards, under the circumstances of the case, as expressly or impliedly authorized by him to make them, are admissions.

(3) Such statements made by parties to a civil proceeding, where the proceeding is instituted by or against them in their representative character, are not admissions, unless they were made while the party making them held that character.

(4) Such statements made by persons who have a joint proprietary or pecuniary interest in the subject-matter of the proceeding are admissions, provided the following conditions are satisfied:-

(a) the statements are made by such persons in their character of persons so interested, and during the continuance of the interest of the persons making the statements; and

(b) the statements relate to the subject-matter of the proceeding.

(5) Such statements made by persons from whom the parties to the civil proceeding have derived their interest in the subject-matter of the proceeding are admissions, if they are made during the continuance of the interest of the persons making the statements"