Day 057 - 29 Nov 94 - Page 02

     
     1                                      Tuesday 29th November, 1994.
     2
     3   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, can I hand up a fairly recent authority
     4        in the Court of Appeal?  (Same handed)  It is probably more
     5        use to your Lordship at the end of the case than it is
     6        now.  I have copies for the Defendants.  What it does is to
     7        give some useful guidelines starting at page 6 -- the
     8        judgment is by the Master of the Rolls -- about the
     9        approach which the court should adopt in relation to the
    10        question of the natural, ordinary meanings of the words
    11        complained of in a defamation action.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is that pages 6 to 9?
    14
    15   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, exactly.
    16
    17   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I suggest -- do you have a copy of
    18        that?
    19
    20   MR. RAMPTON:  I have just handed a copy over, my Lord.  It may
    21        not be of immediate value because it is, obviously, partly
    22        relevant because what your Lordship has to decide in the
    23        first instance is the meaning -----
    24
    25   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think I should read it because it is idle
    26        to pretend that one does not build up a provisional view of
    27        what the meaning of words in a leaflet which one has read
    28        so many times are.  I am not going to decide as part of my
    29        decision on whether there should be an amendment what the
    30        actual meaning is because I think all parties ought to have
    31        the opportunity to think again and address any comments on
    32        that at the end of the day, but it is silly to pretend that
    33        as, I hope, an ordinary person one does not form a
    34        provisional view of these things.
    35
    36   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.  It has this bearing on the present
    37        application, since it says how the court should approach
    38        the question of what do the words actually mean,
    39        necessarily incorporated in that is, what are the words
    40        capable of meaning to an ordinary person?
    41
    42   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let us just pause there.  Might I suggest
    43        that, before we go any further, you read pages 6 to 9 (and
    44        I will read them as well) in the transcript of this case.
    45        I would like to read them now, so you may as well read them
    46        now.  Then if you say you want a few minutes more to
    47        consider it further in case you want to say anything about
    48        it, you will certainly have them.  You will remember that
    49         -- I do not think one need look at the facts greatly --
    50        Dr. Skuse was a forensic scientist who gave evidence in the 
    51        case against those who were accused of responsibility for 
    52        the Birmingham bomb.  You carry on when you are ready. 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:  We were not going to say anything about that at the
    55        moment.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, very well.
    58
    59   MS. STEEL:  I am not quite sure where we do start, having broken
    60        off.