Day 240 - 24 Apr 96 - Page 46
1 MR. MORRIS: Their own statement.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- he had said on a previous occasion in the
4 statement.
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Right.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That has not troubled us in this case.
9 Indeed, with most people's evidence their statement has
10 stood as their evidence-in-chief, or most of it. So that
11 objection is not there. In any event, if the Civil
12 Evidence Act statement was read and then you wanted to call
13 the witness, they would not have heard what was there. Is
14 there any fundamental objection, Mr. Rampton?
15
16 MR. RAMPTON: No, it is not really a fundamental one but it is
17 actually the Civil Evidence Act itself, section 2(2), which
18 says: "Where, in any civil proceedings, a party desiring to
19 give a statement in evidence by virtue of this section has
20 called or intends to call as a witness in the proceedings
21 the person by whom the statement was made, the statement
22 shall not be given in evidence by virtue of this section on
23 behalf of that party without the leave of the court".
24
25 Generally speaking -- obviously, the underlying reason may
26 be the one your Lordship gave but it is, in fact, because
27 of the statute -- the rule is that the witness has to give
28 the evidence first before any reference can be made to the
29 statement. No doubt your Lordship is right.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Unless you raised any objection, I might just
32 have to deem the Civil Evidence Act statement not to have
33 been given in evidence, even though it has been read, and
34 then get on with the witness. But it is not going to come
35 to that because the reality is that you are going to rely
36 on a Civil Evidence Act statement rather than live
37 evidence.
38
39 Then I have got J. Dunbar, statement awaited.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: Well, I mean, I cannot complain if a cut-off date,
42 you know, arrives for his evidence because -----
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Remind me what he is about.
45
46 MR. MORRIS: He is a former employee of McDonald's and he has
47 done a statement which, he says, he sent to me which did
48 not arrive, and then I have been chasing him up for a copy
49 for the last three or four months, intermittently, but
50 I have not received a copy. So, obviously, when the time
51 comes you decide that the date is too late -----
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am going to -----
54
55 MR. MORRIS: I will follow it up.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I will say now -- it is as much an
58 attempt to help you; it is a very extensive deadline -- but
59 I will say service by 31st May, and then you will have to
60 call him, if you are going to call him at all, very quickly
