Day 241 - 26 Apr 96 - Page 16
1 they are calling their witnesses and then only calling them
2 after our witnesses have given their evidence. I would
3 have thought that cannot be right in the interests of
4 justice and getting the case finished.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Are you actually objecting to Mr. Wright?
7 I must put it to you this way because you need to know you
8 see, whether one party is objecting, is opposing an
9 application made by another.
10
11 MS. STEEL: I am extremely unhappy.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Whether it is a contested application or not
14 in other words.
15
16 MS. STEEL: I am aware the plaintiffs are trying to blackmail us
17 into not opposing their witnesses because they then start
18 playing, what they normally criticise us for doing, just
19 saying they should not -- well tit for tat whatever, but
20 I am extremely concerned about what has happened with the
21 witness from Norway.
22
23 MR. MORRIS: We do not know what the legal -- we are asking for
24 guidance from the court on whether this is an appropriate
25 course to take, what has happened here, where our witnesses
26 have been called and they have served -----
27
28 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have said before that I do not think
29 actually the order in which the witnesses give their
30 evidence matters very much. You from time to time set
31 great stop by it, but it does not really matter to me. If
32 it is alleged that someone who has been called after
33 another a witness on the other side has tailored his or her
34 evidence falsely because of the witness given previously,
35 then that is a comment to be made in due course which
36 I will consider.
37
38 But in many cases now, provided there is some essential
39 structure to the case in the sense of the order in which
40 witnesses are called, time and time again what would be the
41 routine would change very often, for instance for the
42 convenience of the witness or for any reason. It is more
43 important that the judge has all the potential material
44 evidence before him and that a particular order be
45 followed.
46
47 MS. STEEL: But the problem is that Mr. Jenssen has been and
48 gone and it is very late in the day and for us to try and
49 contact him to comment on this statement at this stage of
50 the case, when we have got all the other issues to deal
51 with, is going to be extremely difficult, nigh-on
52 impossible bearing if mind we have to contact all the
53 nutrition witnesses and the publication witnesses, and all
54 the other matters that have to be dealt with, because
55 basically we are in court most of the time. When we are
56 not we have got, you know, so much to chase up as it is, it
57 is very difficult for us to take on additional matters and
58 go back over very old ground.
59
60 MR. MORRIS: I think what we are saying is that we do not know
