Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 41


     
     1
     2        Obviously, if I raise points of law which are not in my
     3        submissions and which take the Defendants by surprise, they
     4        are, as a matter of law, entitled to reply to those.
     5        I have invited Ms. Steel or Mr. Morris to look at some of
     6        my calculations and, if they disagree with my calculations,
     7        then to tell your Lordship.  But what I do not believe
     8        would be right is if they use the opportunity of being able
     9        to read my closing speech as, as it were, a gap through
    10        which to shove a whole lot of rewritten or rethought
    11        submissions.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No.  Well, as I have understood it, they
    14        would like the opportunity to give me further notes of
    15        particular references in writing which they would like to
    16        rely on or me to look at, and I have said they can have --
    17        I do not think I said a time on Wednesday, in fact, the
    18        18th, did I?
    19
    20   MR. RAMPTON:  No.  Your Lordship said the 18th.  I raised no
    21        objection.  If they have after thoughts -- not after
    22        thoughts -- but additional thoughts about what they
    23        themselves have said, simply because they have not, for one
    24        reason or another, had the time to do it during the last
    25        five weeks and before, so be it.  What I would object to is
    26        that were used as a means of response to the factual
    27        submissions which I shall make, I am afraid, at some length
    28        and when I hand my work in later this week.
    29
    30   MS. STEEL:   I do not really understand what Mr. Rampton problem
    31        is.  If he has got confidence in his case, then he should
    32        not have anything to worry about us responding.
    33
    34   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That may be.  But the point is that you in
    35        fact have no right of reply to what he says on questions of
    36        fact, when he comes last.  Whether I allow you to put some
    37        reply, if that is what it is, in writing, I suppose is a
    38        different matter.
    39
    40   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I am sorry, I was not making a nitpicking
    41        point about that.  Of course if your Lordship says, "Reply
    42        to this, reply to that" -- what I do not want to find is
    43        that what I have done is a platform for the Defendants
    44        having, as I called it colloquially ---
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think it is would be an extremely
    47        unlikely ---
    48
    49   MR. RAMPTON: -- a second bite at the cherry on everything.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- time for that, in any event, because if 
    52        Ms. Steel and Mr. Morris are going to get any further 
    53        submissions in on the evidence -- which, I know from what
    54        they have said, they are contemplating doing, but which
    55        I understand from what they have said really to be a number
    56        of references to parts of witnesses ---
    57
    58   MR. RAMPTON:  That is right.
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- they have not particularly referred to, or

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