Day 082 - 01 Feb 95 - Page 03

     
     1
     2   MS. STEEL:   No.
     3
     4   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, there is something I would wish to say.
     5        I do not know whether I am right, may be not, but if
     6        I detect in all of this some kind of indication that
     7        Mr. North may be intending to depart from his script in
     8        some respect which is material to Mr. Clark's evidence,
     9        why, then we should have notice of it.
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, that is no different to the situation
    12        with regard to anyone.  If either party in the case, having
    13        disclosed a statement of a witness they propose to call,
    14        has reason to believe that the witness is going on to
    15        something which is not in the statement, they really should
    16        produce some written notice of it, however informal that
    17        may be.
    18
    19   MR. RAMPTON:  I am not talking, my Lord, about matters of
    20        detail.  What I mean is if there is going to be any
         significant retraction or contradiction of what is
    22        presently in Mr. North's statement ------
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Or if he is going on to an extra topic ---
    25
    26   MR. RAMPTON:  Or a different topic.
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- but that is a general comment with regard
    29        to any witness.  Thank you for coming back, Mr. Clark.
    30        But, so as far I am concerned, there is no reason why you
    31        or Professor Jackson need stay in court a moment longer.
    32
    33        The only other thing I would mention is that when you are
    34        applying your minds, after Mr. North has given evidence as
    35        to whether you want evidence from Mr. Clark, give some
    36        thought to whether evidence in the form of his disclosed
    37        statement will suffice for your purposes.  If it will
    38        suffice for your purposes, and if you are content that the
    39        whole statement goes in, you might for all I know be able
    40        to agree with those who represent McDonald's that that
         happens. So, instead of having a flurry of academic Civil
    42        Evidence Act notices and counter notices about bits and
    43        then the whole, it is just agreed by the parties that
    44        I treat the whole statement as his evidence.  Do you see?
    45
    46        The question is what we do next.  There is no other witness
    47        arranged until Monday morning?
    48
    49   MR. RAMPTON:  No, my Lord, that is right, that is Mr. Atherton.
    50        For once, my pessimism about the length of time the 
    51        witnesses will take has been misplaced, partly from, of 
    52        course, my decision not to call Mr. Clark.  Mr. Morris has 
    53        produced a list of topics.  I do not know that I am much
    54        clearer about what they mean than I was yesterday.  I do
    55        not know if your Lordship has one?
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, I have.
    58
    59   MR. RAMPTON:  All I say about item (1) is that I would require
    60        better notice and more specific notice of what is fit to be