Day 280 - 17 Jul 96 - Page 40
1 to prove as well, or we want them to agree to, so we do not
2 have to prove. But on that subject of the documents, is it
3 possible, because our documents are a mess, frankly. In
4 terms of organisation, is it possible for us to make some
5 use of that set of documents, there and to some extent is
6 now superfluous as there is no more witnesses, is it
7 possible for us, for example, we have had an offer of a
8 place to store documents so that we can work on them. But
9 would it be possible for us to borrow those over the summer
10 period and if necessary, return them, or whatever?
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do you have any anything to say?
13
14 MR. RAMPTON: Could I ask Mrs. Brinley-Codd, my Lord? (Pause)
15 We are content, on two conditions and I hope they are
16 reasonable in your Lordship's view. The first is that they
17 must not be marked in anyway at all.
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
20
21 MR. RAMPTON: The second is that we know, if we find we are
22 missing a document which we sometimes do, sometimes perhaps
23 the witness files are more complete than anybody else's.
24 We must know where it is we can go and get them in case we
25 need them.
26
27 MR. MORRIS: We would certainly agree to provide or identify any
28 sight of a document, or whatever.
29
30 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have got no objection to you taking them
31 away, provided that you do not mark them. I think you
32 should also say that you will not remove any document from
33 those bundles because I do not have any doubt that you
34 would return it, but it is important that it goes back
35 exactly where it came from. But I think it is fair enough
36 that if you are going to take them away somewhere, if Mrs.
37 Brindley-Codd says she want to look at pink sixteen or
38 something else, or wants it for a few days, someone has
39 either got to be able to come and look at it or you have
40 got to get them to The Temple or Barlow Lyde and Gilbert so
41 they can be looked at.
42
43 MR. MORRIS: That is certainly no problem.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It might be possible to arrange before the
46 end of term that you have a number of days where you have
47 access to this Court and you can look at them actually in
48 Court, if that will help. I do not know what the pressure
49 on individual courtrooms is.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: There is always, in any case, the theoretical and
52 I have to say horrifying prospect of the possibility of a
53 retrial. Those documents actually belong to the Plaintiffs
54 as I understand it, and not to the Court.
55
56 MR. MORRIS: We will give them back.
57
58 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You need not give a formal undertaking but if
59 you and Ms. Steel say you are not prepared to mark the
60 documents; not to take any documents out of the bundles, to
