Day 307 - 27 Nov 96 - Page 46
1 and, if it is, then the jury decides the matter whether
2 there was actual malice or express malice.
3
4 So when you have, in effect, for the last twenty minutes,
5 before we broke off -- quarter of an hour before we broke
6 off -- even addressing me on matters of law, because
7 whether it is a privileged occasion, depending on what the
8 facts are of course, is a matter of law, and when you say
9 it has to be an immediate response to avoid harm being done
10 that is a proposition of law, not a proposition of fact.
11 Having said that, whether it is an immediate response or
12 not is a matter of fact. The proposition it has to be a
13 immediate response to avoid harm being done is a
14 proposition of law, so you are arguing the law as you go
15 along.
16
17 So I would like you to tell me at some stage what you are
18 hoping -- not what you are proposing -- because whether you
19 do what you propose to do is entirely a matter for me, but
20 what you are hoping to be able to do so far as arguments
21 are of law are concerned. At the moment I don't know
22 whether you are going to argue matters of law, whether they
23 are going to be in writing, helpfully provided by someone,
24 perhaps a qualified lawyer who has prepared to do some work
25 on your behalf, or what. Get on with your submissions, but
26 bear this in mind, because it will not be any use saying on
27 Monday, 16th December, "We want to address you for a week
28 on the law". You can forget that right now.
29
30 MR. MORRIS: Right. We have had patchy help on the law, and
31 the point is we need to draw what we have got together and
32 we did identify 14 areas of law, if you remember, in our
33 skeleton, in our schedule, most of which I think we have
34 got something patchy in writing. The question is putting
35 it together.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest you do -----
38
39 MR. MORRIS: -- chasing up people.
40
41 MR JUSTICE BELL: From some time tomorrow onwards you are going
42 to be listening to Mr. Rampton. At the moment, the plan is
43 that we will not sit on Friday anyway, no doubt reading
44 what he has put in writing, but it gives you time out of
45 court to think about these things.
46
47 What I do urge you to do is put as much of your legal
48 submissions, or indeed all of them if you possibly can, in
49 writing, preferably word processed and then at, some stage
50 you can hand those to me and then, in all probability,
51 there will be time for you to say, "I would like to expand
52 on this", "I would like to expand on that", but I can take
53 them away with me when I reserve judgment, as I will take
54 away Mr. Rampton's and my note of anything he said in
55 elaboration or anything in response to me, and re-read the
56 authorities which I think are helpful and re-read parts of
57 the text books which I think are helpful before deciding
58 what I think the propositions of law are which apply to the
59 issues in this case, just as I did in the first part of my
60 ruling on the meaning of nutrition. Do you remember, when
