The controversial billion-rand arms deal has now become the greatest legal test regarding the Access to Information Act.

Dr. Richard Young, managing director of CCII Systems in Cape Town, is asking the Pretoria High Court to force the Auditor-General (AG), the Public Protector (PP), the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and the Minister of Defence to provide him with all the investigating team's draft reports concerning alleged irregularities.

Young is of the opinion that these reports have been altered.

He was initially the preferred supplier of the Information Management System for the corvettes, but it was awarded to a company which has ties with Mr Schabir Shaik, brother of the chief of arms acquisitions for defence, Mr Chippy Shaik.

The government institutions are of the opinion that Young was too hasty in going to court and that he should have given them the opportunity to consider his request properly.

He is also being accused of wanting the information in order to strengthen his claim for damages amounting to millions of rands.

The law dictates that everyone has the right to the access of information which he needs to protect and practise his rights.

Young said that he's been trying for a long time to obtain this information, but the government institutions have used every possible excuse not to give it to him. The AG has alleged, for example, that the investigation consists of about 700 000 pages of which he kept copies of 225 000 pages. According to Adv. Owen Rogers SC, this would amount to approximately 750 files.

Judge Willie Hartzenberg observed on this that this wasn't so many documents, since he had heard a case where the summons consisted of more than 700 files.

According to the AG he also doesn't have the human resources to work through the documents to identify which information is of interest to Young and which documents are classified.

Adv. Michael Kuper SC, for the Minister of Defence, said that the law tried to create a balance between the conflict of interests by providing protection for military information and trade secrets.

Should Young succeed, then every failed bidder could request that all documents relevant to the government's decision be made available.

According to Kuper it will put the compiling of government documents at risk if even draft documents were to be made available.

One of the excuses used against Young was that information had been given to the investigating team confidentially by third parties and it could therefore not be given to him.

The AG also referred Young to other departments to obtain the original documents since he only had copies.

Hartzenberg replied to this : "I have done a lot of work for the government in my days and it will be a miracle if they know where the original document is."

Judgement was reserved.

With acknowledgements to Andries Cornelissen and Rapport.