Day 165 - 27 Sep 95 - Page 43


     
     1        in-chief.  Remember that you can ask me to read in the
     2        statement of an employment witness the witness's
     3        evidence-in-chief or part of it, if you wish, which may
     4        save some time.  We can talk about that when you get to the
     5        witnesses, if you want.
     6
     7   MR. MORRIS:  Yes, there are still some outstanding witnesses to
     8        be confirmed.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  All I am trying to do is get a rough
    11        estimate.  So, looking well ahead, we might get on to
    12        rain forest, if the employment witnesses went faster than
    13        anticipated or, which may well happen, some of them really
    14        have to be called at some stage in the future because they
    15        cannot come during the employment periods, we may be
    16        getting on to rain forest sometime in the week beginning
    17        Monday 20th.  That is before the date I have just given for
    18        the end of the employment witnesses, but that allows for
    19        the fact that you may say that a certain one or other of
    20        your witnesses cannot come until some later time.
    21
    22        The question of having a break arises and how long it
    23        should be.  I do not think it is productive to discuss that
    24        now because I do not know what windfalls of time you may
    25        find along the way in any event during the employment part
    26        of the case.
    27
    28   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, can I say something, not to be
    29        obstructive and not to argue with your Lordship, but if my
    30        estimates of the Defendants' length in time in-chief of
    31        many of their employment witnesses is correct, we are going
    32        to have a very large number of short days during the
    33        Defendants' employment evidence if it is scheduled to run
    34        to the end of the week beginning 20th to 24th November.
    35        I have just been looking, for example, at Mr. Duncan's
    36        statement.  Again, it seems to me that that
    37        evidence-in-chief, once your Lordship has read the
    38        statement, could only at the most in any sensible world
    39        take half an hour and I see he is down for a day.
    40
    41   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What occurs to me is if Mr. Morris can find
    42        witnesses for the 18th and 19th October and two days during
    43        the half term and then for the week following, sometime in
    44        the week following, that is Monday 30th October onwards,
    45        sometime during that week we will have a much better idea
    46        of how the time estimates are working out.
    47
    48   MR. RAMPTON:  I understand that, my Lord.  Our problem is
    49        nothing to do with wasted time in this instance, although
    50        that is a constant thought for me and my clients in this 
    51        case because it is a fact of life in this particular case 
    52        that it has not gone at a quarter of the speed it ought to 
    53        have done, but there it is, I have to live with that.  But
    54        our concern is a specific one in relation to this, that my
    55        three principal rain forest witnesses are all abroad.
    56        There are two in Costa Rica and Mr. Ray Cesca who covers
    57        more of the globe in an aeroplane in a year than even
    58        Dr. Gomez Gonzales.  He had booked out the week of November
    59        6th.  That has now gone.  I must try to find a week before
    60        Christmas, if possible, when he can be certain that he will

Prev Next Index