(1) Evidence may not be adduced of—
(a) a communication made—
(i) between persons in dispute, or
(ii) between one or more persons in dispute and a third party, being a communication made in connection with an attempt to negotiate a settlement of the dispute; or
(b) a document that has been prepared in connection with an attempt to negotiate a settlement of a dispute, whether or not the document has been delivered.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where—
(a) the persons in dispute consent to the evidence being adduced or, if one of those persons has adduced the communication or document in evidence in some other proceedings, all the other persons so consent;
(b) the substance of the evidence has been disclosed with the express or implied consent of all the persons in dispute;
(c) the communication or document—
(i) began or continued an attempt to settle the dispute, and
(ii) included a statement to the effect that it was not to be treated as confidential;
(d) the communication or document relates to an issue in dispute and the dispute, so far as it relates to that issue, has been settled, and the document forms part of the chain of events which led to the settlement;
(e) the evidence tends to contradict or to qualify evidence that has already been admitted about the course of an attempt to settle the dispute;
(f) a party to the dispute knew or ought reasonably to have known that the communication was made, or the document prepared, in furtherance of a deliberate abuse of a power conferred by or under an enactment;
(g) the communication was made, or the document prepared, in furtherance of the commission of—
(i) an offence, or
(ii) an act that renders a person liable to a civil penalty; or
(h) a party to the dispute knew or ought reasonably to have known that the communication was made, or the document prepared, in furtherance of a deliberate abuse of a power conferred by or under a law in force in Saint Lucia.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(g), where—
(a) the commission of the offence or the act is a fact in issue; and
(b) there are reasonable grounds for finding that—
(i) an offence or an act was committed, and
(ii) a communication was made or a document prepared in furtherance of the commission of the offence or the act,
the court may find that the communication was so made or the document so prepared.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(h), where—
(a) the abuse of power is a fact in issue; and
(b) there are reasonable grounds for finding that a communication was made or a document prepared in furtherance of that abuse,
(5) A reference in this section to—
(a) a dispute is a reference to a dispute of a kind in respect of which relief may be given in proceedings;
(b) an attempt to negotiate the settlement of a dispute does not include a reference to an attempt to negotiate the settlement of a criminal proceedings or anticipated criminal proceedings; and
(c) a party to a dispute includes a reference to an employee or agent of such a party.