Day 182 - 02 Nov 95 - Page 64
1 I can at some stage, at any rate, fill in the evidence. If
2 they are not being called, it may not matter very much the
3 stage at which I put it in, if I do, of course, but I would
4 like to be told one way or the other.
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Surely, if it is not going entirely to credit and
7 is relevant to the issues, then it should have been
8 disclosed a year ago or longer or whatever.
9
10 MR. RAMPTON: No. Despite the fact that Mr. Morris is sitting
11 down, I will respond to that. If it is by way of a witness
12 statement, that is not so; it would be, of course, if it
13 was a disclosable document, but I am not talking about
14 documents.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: How could the evidence then, unless you are
17 bringing a witness?
18
19 MS. STEEL: How -----
20
21 MR. MORRIS: How can you adduce any evidence without ------
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause for a moment.
24
25 MR. RAMPTON: Under the Civil Evidence Act which I expect you
26 have heard about.
27
28 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where do we go in practical terms though,
29 because suppose Mr. Morris or Ms. Steel indicated that they
30 were not going to call one or both of those witnesses so
31 that their statements could be read, and then you did
32 produce something pursuant to section 7, they would be
33 entitled to call the witness, would they not?
34
35 MR. RAMPTON: I could not stop them calling a witness, of course
36 not, no. I am not suggesting that.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I know. I am not suggesting you were, but
39 what I am contemplating is where do we go then.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: He said earlier on we could not call a witness
42 unless we put in a Civil Evidence Act witness statement.
43
44 MR. RAMPTON: No, no. Mr. Morris does not listen to what
45 I say. I do not blame him for that; he finds my voice
46 almost as tiresome as I find his, I have no doubt. But the
47 fact is that what you cannot do is read a Civil Evidence
48 Act statement and then call the witness.
49
50 MR. MORRIS: Which is what we have just been talking about.
51
52 MR. RAMPTON: Mr. Morris, I am afraid, my Lord, has lost me. If
53 he decides not to call the witness, then he can read his
54 own Civil Evidence Act statement at any time. If he
55 decides to call a witness, he cannot read the statement
56 until after the witness has been called. I, on the other
57 hand, as I understand this section, can put in Civil
58 Evidence Act evidence at any stage to discredit, not
59 discredit, but to undermine the credibility of the witness.
60
