Sorry to prattle on again. I am not a lawyer, but did spend a significant part of my professional life dealing with these sort of procedures from a law enforcement position, including many hearings with judges on just this sort of thing. And, although I never was a JW, I follow this stuff.
Just some random thoughts from reading the ruling - and 'reading between the lines' a bit.
1. It must piss WT off a bit that in the courtroom the judge sits beneath the royal coat of arms (reproduced on the court documents). The wording translates as 'God and my right'.
2. CC has stated outright that its investigation (notified to WT on 5/6/14) is based on safeguarding issues in the public interest partly because of 'recent criminal trials'. WT won't like this. I like to think (but won't ever know) that this may have been helped along by those of us who contacted CC expressing concern, pointing out their policies etc.
3. The judge has declared that WTUK is a 'corporate entity'. This has implications.
4. CC issued the Production Order on 20/6/14. There is a 42 day appeal period. WT entered its appeal on 22/12/14. An elementary mistake (born out of arrogance?) IMHO. Most thinkers know to get the appeal in on time even if you hope to delay its hearing.
5. WT was represented by a 'silk', a QC. Not, presumably from in-house, and I would be surprised if he is a dub. If he is, that would be a biographical story worth reading. Silks don't come cheap. CC was represented by a 'standard' barrister.
6. The judge repeated that there were ongoing concerns re minors and pointed out that what is required to be produced under the PO is from 2011. We are not talking about historic stuff here.
7. She quotes the WT QC as replying 'frankly'. To those who speak 'judge speak', 'nuff said.
8. CC had repeatedly advised WT that some of the delaying tactics would fail, said the judge without further comment. None was needed.
9. The judge considered that the CC enquiry would be prejudiced if delayed. No further comment needed.
10. The requirements of the PO were not onerous. I don't know what they were, but they only related to material since 2011. WT is apparently very adept at record and document keeping so should have no problem in complying.
11. The judge said that there was a 'significant and serious period of delay' with 'no good explanation for it' in a case of ongoing risks to children.
Overall, the judge was not happy. I think that the WT QC will have reported this back to his client and probably given them a warning that things did not go well.
The WT does, of course, live in its own world. We have seen multiple reports of senior people not turning up in court, prevaricating, and so on. They need to have a care, I think.
This is a 'war story' but true. When, back in the late 1970s/early 1980s Production Orders were brought in in the UK for drug trafficking/money laundering/proceeds of crime cases it didn't cause too much of a stir amongst bankers, etc. These are orders applied for from a Circuit Judge requiring a respondent to produce material within a given time. New legislation, and from the perspective of those of us law enforcement officers working in the sticks the head honchos of banks etc. did not take it seriously. Until ... Production Orders were obtained against the corporate entity and duly served. We gave a copy to the local manager (for example) out of courtesy. He'd waffle on a bit and talk about referring it to his area manager, who would refer it to the regional manager. We would explain that if the material was not produced in due time (usually 7 days) then it would be the company secretary/chief executive of the bank who would be required to stand in front of the judge to explain the failure - and he might want to bring an overnight bag in case the judge jailed him for contempt. AFAIK no-one needed to be jailed, but I do know of a case where bank staff were put on 24 hour shifts to produce the material in time. Very quickly, banks and other institutions learned about this stuff.
Everything I read about WT in court cases suggests that its leaders (almost by definition) are somewhat uneducated and consider themselves 'above this world'. Sorry, guys, you're not and you'd better get a grip on reality. Soon.
