Day 239 - 23 Apr 96 - Page 03
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I can see that one could say, where one comes
2 under the issue -----
3
4 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. What I am really saying is that it is not
5 the issue.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I know. The difficulty is this, it seems to
8 me, that while adhering to the ruling I have made, one has
9 got the knock-on effect and then one has got what I call
10 the "ripple effect" as well, which I have not been prepared
11 to exclude. What I make of it at the end of the day is
12 another matter entirely, but what I described as the
13 "ripple effect" -- I cannot remember whether I actually
14 used that in the judgment; I certainly used it in open
15 court, which is another version of the hamburger connection
16 which is saying that the more one encourages the eating of
17 beef, the more ranching there is all over the place.
18
19 At the end of the day, that may not be very attractive
20 because I have got to draw a line and say, one person who
21 has got one steer in the field somewhere is making a
22 contribution to a cattle ranching which is knocking down
23 the Brazilian rainforest, but I am not prepared to give any
24 ruling on it at this stage.
25
26 So, I appreciate the point you are making, that whatever is
27 in the statement about actual cattle ranching in the
28 Brazilian rainforest, at the end of the day, may have
29 nothing whatsoever to do with what appears in this leaflet
30 or any justification of it, but I am prepared to reserve
31 judgment until I have heard all the comment made on both
32 sides with regards to that.
33
34 MR. RAMPTON: I understand that but I hope your Lordship
35 understands my anxiety. I do not mind if the statement
36 goes in for your Lordship to read. I do have an anxiety
37 about: (a) the use of court time for what I see as a
38 purposeless exercises, and also, of course, I have an
39 anxiety about the fact that this is in open court. There
40 does not actually happen to be a huge gallery of public or
41 press here, so perhaps it does not matter very much.
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. I do not think it is going save much
44 time reading it through.
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: That is a minor concern.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: One thing I have tried not to concern myself
49 with in this case is the publicity one way or the other.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: No, but your Lordship will understand my concern.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Absolutely. I perfectly understand the
54 reason why you have made the point.
55
56 MR. MORRIS: Yes. I think that it is unnecessary to use the
57 court for the purposes of time wasting and I disagree very
58 strongly with everything that Mr. Rampton has said.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not, or you will tempt me to say
