Day 164 - 26 Sep 95 - Page 11


     
     1        authorities to back those up.  We will do.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  This is why I asked you, you see, if you have
     4        some reasonable prospect of doing it.  Here we are 10
     5        months after starting the trial -- that is optimistic -- 15
     6        months after starting the trial.  The reality is you have
     7        suddenly got hold of this printout, fair enough, but you do
     8        not have any more than I do whether you are actually going
     9        to get anything from the authorities concerned.
    10
    11   MR. MORRIS:  I could give my personal guarantee that it is a
    12        realistic prospect I will get evidence to back up points
    13        (3) and (4) -----
    14
    15   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I am frankly not content with that at
    16        this stage in the case.  Your Lordship will remember in
    17        Associated Leisure, which is before ever the trial had
    18        begun, Lord Denning said that any litigant who seeks to
    19        make a late amendment will have his conduct closely
    20        enquired into.  The practice is to swear an affidavit
    21        explaining in detail why it is that the application has not
    22        been made sooner and what are the grounds of belief that it
    23        can be sustained.  I am not willing to accept Mr. Morris'
    24        personal guarantee; bitter experience tells me that
    25        I should not do so.
    26
    27   MR. MORRIS:  I think the bitter experience is that anything that
    28        we plead we have almost without exception -----
    29
    30   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not for a moment challenging your good
    31        faith.  I am not for a moment seeking to say to you that
    32        you do not believe that there is a good chance of getting
    33        it, but what basis have I actually got for thinking that
    34        you can?
    35
    36   MR. MORRIS:  These have only recently in terms of even the trial
    37        come into our hands.  Secondly, they are being pleaded now
    38        and, therefore, I have focused my mind on it.  I have a
    39        thousand things to do with this case to focus my mind on.
    40        This is now risen up to the top 10 priority.  I have been
    41        making enquiries last night regarding certain matters.
    42        I believe those to be true, (3) and (4), and I think there
    43        is a realistic prospect that we will get evidence to show
    44        they are true to provide the context in which the other
    45        particulars can be considered.
    46
    47        I am quite happy to contact the General Accounting Office
    48        of the US government regarding how many inspectors they
    49        have and what percentage of their time are spent on child
    50        labour law enforcements and things like that. 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  At the moment I am against you on 
    53        that.  I will think about it, but what I will put my mind
    54        to is whether it is a question of shutting you out
    55        completely or saying I would be prepared to reconsider the
    56        matter if within a reasonable period of time you did find
    57        something.  But wait; you will get my ruling within a few
    58        days and wait and see what I say about it.
    59
    60   MR. MORRIS:  So I do not need to go through the specific ones?

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