Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 41
1
2 Obviously, if I raise points of law which are not in my
3 submissions and which take the Defendants by surprise, they
4 are, as a matter of law, entitled to reply to those.
5 I have invited Ms. Steel or Mr. Morris to look at some of
6 my calculations and, if they disagree with my calculations,
7 then to tell your Lordship. But what I do not believe
8 would be right is if they use the opportunity of being able
9 to read my closing speech as, as it were, a gap through
10 which to shove a whole lot of rewritten or rethought
11 submissions.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. Well, as I have understood it, they
14 would like the opportunity to give me further notes of
15 particular references in writing which they would like to
16 rely on or me to look at, and I have said they can have --
17 I do not think I said a time on Wednesday, in fact, the
18 18th, did I?
19
20 MR. RAMPTON: No. Your Lordship said the 18th. I raised no
21 objection. If they have after thoughts -- not after
22 thoughts -- but additional thoughts about what they
23 themselves have said, simply because they have not, for one
24 reason or another, had the time to do it during the last
25 five weeks and before, so be it. What I would object to is
26 that were used as a means of response to the factual
27 submissions which I shall make, I am afraid, at some length
28 and when I hand my work in later this week.
29
30 MS. STEEL: I do not really understand what Mr. Rampton problem
31 is. If he has got confidence in his case, then he should
32 not have anything to worry about us responding.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That may be. But the point is that you in
35 fact have no right of reply to what he says on questions of
36 fact, when he comes last. Whether I allow you to put some
37 reply, if that is what it is, in writing, I suppose is a
38 different matter.
39
40 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I am sorry, I was not making a nitpicking
41 point about that. Of course if your Lordship says, "Reply
42 to this, reply to that" -- what I do not want to find is
43 that what I have done is a platform for the Defendants
44 having, as I called it colloquially ---
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think it is would be an extremely
47 unlikely ---
48
49 MR. RAMPTON: -- a second bite at the cherry on everything.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- time for that, in any event, because if
52 Ms. Steel and Mr. Morris are going to get any further
53 submissions in on the evidence -- which, I know from what
54 they have said, they are contemplating doing, but which
55 I understand from what they have said really to be a number
56 of references to parts of witnesses ---
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: That is right.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- they have not particularly referred to, or
