Day 144 - 28 Jun 95 - Page 31
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is part of the evidence but I cannot
2 possibly to say at this stage, can I, whether I will accept
3 it.
4
5 MR. MORRIS: No, I understand that.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The reason is, one of the reasons, for not
8 putting what is in people's statements, I cannot say
9 whether that fact will be established in due course and,
10 even more so, the witness cannot say. If you bring into
11 the question that we have a witness statement about this or
12 a witness statement about that, you are implicitly asking
13 the witness to evaluate that statement which is a red
14 herring and a distraction. You do not lose anything. It
15 is far simpler if you just put: "if the situation were
16 this or that, what then? without saying "someone will say"
17 or "it is in a statement".
18
19 MS. STEEL: I want to say something. I think the point is
20 Mr. Stein said there was no evidence. I accept that he may
21 not accept that there is evidence, but there is evidence.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let that pass. I will decide that in due
24 course.
25
26 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, can I say one thing because it did arise
27 the other day, and I am not sure that your Lordship said
28 exactly the same thing the other day. My understanding is,
29 though that statement has been impressed with a Civil
30 Evidence Act notice, it does, in fact, become evidence in
31 the case until it has been proffered and read by your
32 Lordship, or read to your Lordship, as part of the
33 Defendants' evidence on this part of the case. That has
34 not happened. It does not have a status even of a Civil
35 Evidence Act statement.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not worry about that because what you
38 should do as from now (and the same will apply to
39 Mr. Rampton, except knowing the rule, as it happens, he has
40 followed, so far as I can recall) is do not say: "We have
41 a statement from a witness who says that". Do not even
42 say: "A witness in the past has said that". Just put the
43 facts as you will argue them to be in due course -- do not
44 say where they come from -- and then ask the witness about
45 that, because that is the right way to do it.
46
47 I have been understanding about the fact you represent
48 yourselves, so I have not pulled you up, as it were, in the
49 past on it but that is the way it should be done.
50
51 MR. MORRIS: If it helps the court, we can read out or we can
52 formally ask you to read all the Civil Evidence Act notices
53 which we have -----
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, it would not make any difference,
56 Mr. Morris.
57
58 MR. MORRIS: Then we can refer to evidence that has already been
59 given to the court without having to -----
60
