Assistance to the court - investigation and report
The Official Solicitor may also be called on to give confidential advice to the Judges; to instruct counsel to appear before a Judge to assist the court as advocate to the court, or to investigate any matter on which the court needs a special report, known as a Harbin v Masterman enquiry (1896 1 Ch 351). A common enquiry requested is to ascertain the mental capacity of a party to proceedings before the court.
A special report may be requested by the court from the Official Solicitor when the Judge feels he needs help to ascertain facts or information relevant to the case which would not otherwise be made available to the court. It is probably a contempt of court to interfere with an investigation by the Official Solicitor.
For further information please contact the civil litigation team on 020 7911 7136