Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 23
1 an official record. It does not become an official record
2 until after it has been checked with tapes. They are here
3 really to provide a CaseView facility on behalf of one
4 party who claim right to restrict it to the others.
5
6 So during the proceedings they are not being employed as
7 official transcribers by order of the court; yet they are
8 employed to sit in front of the Judge's bench and to have
9 access to court facilities including recorded sound upon
10 which conditions -- first of all, leave should be sought
11 for McDonald's to have access for their personal use and
12 conditions can be granted, can be imposed.
13
14 So we would contend that they are not official whilst the
15 hearing is on. They are not official transcribers. Maybe
16 this has come about because of new technology and new
17 developments but, as far as we can see, they are not
18 actually official transcribers acting on behalf of the
19 court while the hearing is taking place at least, yet they
20 are seen to be part of the court furniture -- there is no
21 offence to the transcribers who do a magnificent job --
22 therefore, there is a danger of an impression of bias or
23 partiality in the court proceedings where people working
24 for one party are, in fact, being seen to be -----
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have to look at the rules instead
27 of -- you cannot just talk to me and tell me what the
28 position is without looking at the relevant rules and
29 provisions.
30
31 MR. MORRIS: The provision is that for someone that is not
32 engaged on -----
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: As far as I am concerned, unless you can show
35 me otherwise, Barnett Lenton are taking an official
36 shorthand note. In fact, it has been taken with the aid of
37 technology rather than pen and ink, but that does not make
38 any difference. Then you go a step further at the expense
39 of one of the parties. On top of that is loaded technology
40 which enables not only a transcript to appear overnight
41 rather than in some days time, but, without any disrespect
42 to Miss Foot, I will call a rough transcript, in the sense
43 that it is not word perfect, appears on a CaseView screen
44 even now as I speak.
45
46 But the route, I would suggest, we start from, is that an
47 official shorthand note is being taken pursuant to Ord. 68
48 r. 1.1, I not having directed that it should not be taken.
49 Then the rule provides for any party being entitled to
50 demand such number of transcripts from the note as that
51 party demands and then what you are supposed to be helping
52 me on is where we go from there.
53
54 MR. MORRIS: You see, our understanding was they were not
55 official transcripts -----
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Forget transcripts and start with a shorthand
58 note. We have not got to the transcripts. We do not get
59 to the transcript until a party demands it. The Plaintiffs
60 demand the note, the transcript, and we have between 50 and
