Day 085 - 08 Feb 95 - Page 04

     
     1         -- that a witness has to go away with his evidence
     2        incomplete and come back again.
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I will bear that in mind, but I will not say
     5        anything more.  I have made my own view very clear on it.
     6        Unless there is some modification which is fair to all the
     7        parties, we will not sit at all on Tuesday because it seems
     8        to me it is a complete day away for you which you should
     9        have.  Let us carry on with ----
    10
    11   MR. MORRIS:  Can I just make one point?  I will not deal with
    12        Mr. Rampton's comments generally -- I do not think they are
    13        worthy of dealing with -- but in terms of, I do not want to
    14        concede the principle of us being able to do the
    15        cross-examination, effectively, if one of us is not here
    16        without the consent of that other person just because that
    17        particular issue is one that the defendant is particularly
    18        relating to because we do work together.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No-one is asking you to concede that.
         I might need some guidance as to whether I can.  I am
    22        familiar with authorities in relation to criminal trials
    23        where a defendant may not be able to attend his own
    24        criminal trial where his own liberty is at stake.  What the
    25        position is with regard to civil trials, I do not know.  I
    26        have not had to consider that yet because my view in this
    27        particular situation I have made quite clear.
    28
    29   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I do have something to say, I think,
    30        about the procedure which has just been adopted.  The
    31        Defendants have asked your Lordship to read -- I am sorry
    32        to stand up now but I have only just thought of it --
    33        halfway through the witness's evidence after he has been
    34        examined in-chief to impress a Civil Evidence Act Notice on
    35        selected parts of Mr. Clark's evidence or his statement.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Mr. Clark?
    38
    39   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes, Mr. Clark, the Scottish witness.
    40
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He has not given any evidence at all.
    42
    43   MR. RAMPTON:  And what the Defendants have now asked is that
    44        certain parts of his statement should be treated as
    45        evidence, the parts which they wish to rely on in
    46        cross-examination of Mr. Atherton.  That has been done at a
    47        time which deprives me -----
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But they do not even need any of it to be in
    50        evidence to cross-examine Mr. Atherton. 
    51 
    52   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, at the moment it is an inadmissible 
    53        document.
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But if they have some ground for believing
    56        something is so, they can raise it in cross-examination.
    57        They cannot put (and I had not anticipated this is what
    58        they did want to put) "Mr. Clark says that" but we have not
    59        got to that situation yet.
    60