Supreme Court Rules 1987

(1) A party interrogated shall answer each interrogatory, insofar as it is not objectionable, in accordance with the following:

(a) the party shall answer from his own knowledge of the fact or matter which is enquired after by the interrogatory and, if he has no such knowledge, from a belief he has as to the fact or matter;

(b) a party who has no knowledge of the fact or matter inquired after shall be taken not to have a belief as to the fact or matter where he has no information relating to it on which to form a belief or where, if he has such information, for reasonable cause he has no belief that the information is true;

(c) except as provided by paragraph (d), the party shall answer from a belief he has as to the fact or matter inquired after irrespective of the source of the information on which the belief is formed;

(d) the party shall not be required to answer from his belief as to a fact or matter where the belief is formed on information that was given to him in a communication the contents of which he could not, on the ground of privilege, be compelled to disclose;

(e) where the party has no knowledge himself of the fact or matter inquired after, he shall, for the purpose of enabling himself to form a belief as to the fact or matter (so far as he can), make all reasonable enquiries to determine:

(i) whether a person has knowledge of the fact or matter which was acquired by that person in the capacity of his servant or agent; and

(ii) if that is the case, what that knowledge is;

(f) the party shall make the inquiries referred to in paragraph (e) notwithstanding that at the time he is required to answer the interrogatory a person having the relevant knowledge has ceased to be his servant or agent; and

(g) where the party is a corporation, this rule with the necessary changes, applies as if the person who answers the interrogatories on behalf of the corporation were the party and, in particular, as if the reference in paragraph (e) to a servant or agent of the party were a reference to a servant or agent of the corporation.

(2) Where an interrogatory relates to a fact or matter alleged in the pleading of the party interrogated, nothing in subrule (1)(d) affects the right of the interrogating party to obtain information as to that fact or matter pursuant to an application of the kind referred to in rule 13.11.