Day 190 - 23 Nov 95 - Page 41
1 if the Defendants have known about Lynval -- I do not know
2 about Mark Ryan -- for a period of years, and it should
3 turn out that they have taken no or no proper steps to find
4 him, then they would not qualify under rule 25 of Order 38
5 very likely because they could not say that they have
6 exercised reasonable diligence. That is why I am a bit
7 cautious about it. We will have to see.
8
9 MR. MORRIS: I can, of course, help the court on this, if I am
10 asked.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Leave it there, Mr. Rampton, and Mr. Morris
13 will .....
14
15 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, obviously, if the Defendants do not know
16 where Lynval or Mark Ryan are whether they have made any
17 enquiries or not, it would be sensible for them to write to
18 us and say, "Can you give us any help in finding those two
19 people?" Whether we would be able to do so, I -----
20
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, but that would be the first sensible port
22 of call if they do not know where they are at the moment.
23 Mr. Morris is going to help me about this.
24
25 MR. MORRIS: So -----
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just wait a minute. Is that all you want to
28 say, Mr. Rampton?
29
30 MR. RAMPTON: That is all I need to say at the moment, I think,
31 yes.
32
33 MR. MORRIS: There are so many questions I have forgotten most
34 of them. The first and most important question -- we are
35 not going to go into the legal argument -- just suffice to
36 say that I am not impressed by Mr. Rampton's arguments, and
37 I feel they are quite -----
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have to prepare seriously to answer
40 it---
41
42 MR. MORRIS: I understand that.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- against the possibility that I will be
45 impressed by it. Take it seriously and do your best to
46 meet it.
47
48 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Not today but in due course.
51
52 MR. MORRIS: If I just urge caution on the court on
53 Mr. Rampton's arguments, obviously he has a client to
54 defend, but it strikes me that it was quite far-reaching
55 what he was arguing, and I did note in one of the cases he
56 referred to the court had said it had been innocently
57 misled into disallowing some admissible evidence, and
58 I would not want the same to happen here.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can I make one point? I have to grapple with
