Day 186 - 10 Nov 95 - Page 60


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I want you to do is bear in mind what I
     3        have said in the last few minutes and see if you cannot get
     4        a day and a half or preferably a couple of days, two
     5        genuine days, evidence of your witnesses next week.  Go
     6        away and think about that over the weekend.
     7
     8   MS. STEEL:   Can I say, I mean, it is Mr. Morris who has been
     9        speaking to Mr. Lamti, but the Plaintiffs did say something
    10        about they were going to bring up something that they have
    11        got up their sleeve.  We do not really know how long
    12        Mr. Lamti is going to take.
    13
    14   MR. RAMPTON:  Can I tell your Lordship -- I will be quite candid
    15         -- your Lordship said when we had Mr. Jenssen in the
    16        witness box that though Mr. Jenssen had spilled forth a
    17        quantity of material that I was not prepared for,
    18        nevertheless, I should try and deal with it as best I could
    19        simply because Norway is at the end of a telephone and
    20        Norwegians speak English, which is all perfectly true, and
    21        we did the best we could.
    22
    23        Your Lordship did say that you took a completely different
    24        view in relation to France, and that your view at that time
    25        was that nothing should be added to the written statements,
    26        unless five days notice was given.  We have had three and a
    27        half days notice of some new matters which may not be
    28        desperately important, but some new matters on which
    29        I presently have not got any instructions and may not have
    30        any by Monday morning.
    31
    32        My cross-examination of Mr. Lamti, I have nothing up my
    33        sleeve, as Ms. Steel puts it, and I never said that I
    34        have.  My cross-examination of Mr. Lamti is limited,
    35        necessarily limited, by the rule of French law which
    36        I explained to your Lordship some time ago.  I do have some
    37        matters to put to him.  I am not willing to tell the
    38        Defendants now what those matters are.  Mr. Lamti will
    39        probably have a jolly good idea anyway.  I will put those
    40        few matters and that will be that.  How it can be thought
    41        that Mr. Lamti might take even up to lunch-time, I just
    42        cannot imagine, even though he will have to be interpreted.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I will not repeat what I have said.  I am not
    45        attracted by the idea of just having some evidence on
    46        Monday and then nothing for the rest of the week.
    47
    48   MR. RAMPTON:  No, I agree.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think it is in everyone's interest to get 
    51        on through the evidence as quickly as we can.  The more 
    52        preparation days we have during the evidence, in all 
    53        fairness, the less time one can expect -- I am going to
    54        give you some time for preparation of speeches after the
    55        end of the evidence -- the more days we have all had to
    56        work on on the case between witnesses, the less time one
    57        can reasonably expect between the end of the evidence and
    58        starting submissions.  I am not saying that inter rorum; it
    59        is just obvious.  But I am sure you will bear in mind what
    60        I have said this afternoon.  Let us just leave it there and

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