Day 241 - 26 Apr 96 - Page 25
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let me answer that first. There is no
2 objection to -- if there is an issue about foreign law then
3 it is not just a question of argument before an English
4 judge. It is a matter upon which evidence has to be called
5 from an appropriate expert and in the foreign law. There
6 is, so far as I am aware, no bar upon calling a qualified
7 lawyer who is employed by one of the parties. If there is
8 a challenge to the accuracy of that expert evidence, then
9 the fact that he is employed by one of the parties may be
10 something which might go to the weight of his evidence, as
11 opposed to some other evidence, even if there is no
12 contradictory evidence, in pointing out any inconsistency
13 which there might appear to be and so on. In other words,
14 it goes to weight. But there is no bar on calling an
15 employee.
16
17 MS. STEEL: OK. The other matter -----
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In fact, he is probably, is he not, a partner
20 or an associate in a firm of attorneys who are instructed
21 from time to time.
22
23 MR. RAMPTON: Yes.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: By the First Plaintiff.
26
27 MR. RAMPTON: He is a partner in Dewey Ballantyne which is a
28 huge firm which McDonald's certainly does use and used back
29 in 1975, or something like that.
30
31 MS. STEEL: I just remember the name. I think it is from the
32 -----
33
34 MR. RAMPTON: 85, I mean.
35
36 MS. STEEL: ----- thing with the 3 State Attorney-Generals,
37 I thought I remember the name from there.
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, the gardener.
40
41 MS. STEEL: I will leave the other points that I was going to
42 make because I think it is probably more a matter of
43 argument at the end of the trial.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Very well.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Then if we are going to spend as much of the
48 rest of the day as we can reading Civil Evidence Act
49 notices, is there anything else?
50
51 MS. STEEL: Yes there is sorry. I meant the other thing about
52 that statement that I will leave. There is another matter
53 which I wanted to bring up which is that you suggested some
54 time ago that we could have subpoenaed Lord Vestey to give
55 evidence about the situation about where the cattle was
56 raised in Brazil and so we wanted to ask about applying for
57 a subpoena to get Lord Vestey to come and give evidence in
58 court.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What you should do, you do not apply to me.
