Day 274 - 04 Jul 96 - Page 02
1 Thursday, 4th July 1996
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Before you call Miss Laporte, I would like to
4 return to the question of possible agreement of documents.
5 What I am about to say is not a ruling. It is a statement
6 of how I see matters, made largely, I have to say, with a
7 view to helping the defendants. Although it is not a
8 ruling, I would be grateful if your clients, Mr. Rampton,
9 would agree to a transcript being made as soon as possible
10 and being given to Ms. Steel and Mr. Morris, if possible,
11 to take away with them this afternoon, and so I could have
12 a copy as well. Before you decide on that, no doubt you
13 would like to hear what I have to say.
14
15 MR. RAMPTON: I am sure the answer will be yes. That means it
16 would have to be done this morning though, does it not?
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In the hope that you would agree to it, I
19 asked Mr. Blain to speak to the stenographer and I think
20 that can be done, provided your clients --
21
22 MR. RAMPTON: Then I give your Lordship a provisional yes.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What that means is you need not scribble
25 vigorously as I say what I want to do.
26
27 What I want to do is to return to the question of admitting
28 documents which any party wishes to rely on. I stress any
29 party, because although the plaintiffs have served a list
30 of documents which they intend to rely on as evidence of
31 the facts stated in them, under cover of Barlow Lyde &
32 Gilbert's letter of 18th March 1996, as far as I am aware
33 the defendants have not themselves provided a list of
34 documents which are not in themselves admissible, or which
35 may not be in themselves admissible, but upon which they
36 may wish to rely as evidence of the facts stated in them.
37 Barlow Lyde & Gilbert have invited the defendants to
38 provide such a list and I have on more than one occasion
39 suggested that it is in the defendants' own interests to do
40 so. I hope that they have made a list, but, if they have,
41 I have not seen one.
42
43 There are a number of points which I wish to make.
44 Firstly, in our adversarial, non-inquisitorial system it is
45 not really for the judge to say that he would like this or
46 that document to be admitted in evidence. It is up to each
47 party to adduce admissible evidence of the facts upon which
48 they or the party wishes and intends to rely. I have only
49 expressed my anxiety from time to time as to whether a
50 particular document is admissible as evidence of the facts
51 stated in it, because the defendants are not represented
52 and they may be assuming that documents which are not in
53 themselves admissible as evidence of the facts stated in
54 them, are in fact admissible.
55
56 Secondly, when I come to consider the evidence in this case
57 in order to prepare my judgment, I will only be able to
58 take into account that which is admissible as evidence in
59 law. I do not have any discretion to take into account
60 material which might be helpful but which is inadmissible
