Day 087 - 10 Feb 95 - Page 17
1 dealing tickets, confirmation slips and telexes used in
2 transfers. Equally bills of lading and cargo manifests
3 have been held to be records of the appropriate type."
4 My Lord, I would add to that list, from experience in a
5 case I did some time ago now, that military records of the
6 kind that record signals would also fall into this
7 category, by way of example.
8
9 It follows, in my submission, that there must be some doubt
10 -- it is perhaps a question that Mr. Atkinson could
11 research a little further -- that there must be some
12 considerable doubt whether a report by Mr. McShirkie
13 assumedly under a duty is, indeed, a record for the purpose
14 of section 4.
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. Might I just have a moment? The
17 Savings & Investment Bank is at 45-13 and 41-61,
18 apparently. I do not think that helps. No, that is on
19 another point. I merely said that because if one is
20 checking whether there has been any significant change over
21 the last few years, it occurred to me that by the
22 terminology which Mr. Morris and Ms. Steel have used,
23 "official document", it would be difficult to imagine
24 anything short of a statute, Act of Parliament which is
25 less "official" in that general sense than a report of
26 Inspectors of Companies appointed by the Secretary of State
27 for Trade.
28
29 MR. RAMPTON: I agree. I have read that with some surprise.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: To some extent -- one is only too ready to be
32 proved wrong -- it confirms my reaction in surprise that it
33 should be suggested that an official document has any
34 status different to any other document.
35
36 MR. RAMPTON: No, it does not appear to have but, my Lord -----
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: As I said, the statement made in it, if all
39 the Civil Evidence Act provisions can be complied with, may
40 carry more weight than a statement made in so far as, for
41 instance, it reported what someone said on oath, it might
42 carry more weight.
43
44 MS. STEEL: Can I come back to this American document?
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You can in a moment. I am seeking help for
47 myself because if you were right that there was any
48 official status, whatever you want to go on to say about
49 the American document, I had better know it.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, can I say something about the American
52 document? It is unclear ----
53
54 MR. MORRIS: I think Ms. Steel ought to be allowed to speak
55 first. She has been trying-----
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I want to try to get this straight in my
58 mind own.
59
60 MR. RAMPTON: Again, my Lord, this is, by way of illustration,
