Day 182 - 02 Nov 95 - Page 64


     
     1        I can at some stage, at any rate, fill in the evidence.  If
     2        they are not being called, it may not matter very much the
     3        stage at which I put it in, if I do, of course, but I would
     4        like to be told one way or the other.
     5
     6   MR. MORRIS:  Surely, if it is not going entirely to credit and
     7        is relevant to the issues, then it should have been
     8        disclosed a year ago or longer or whatever.
     9
    10   MR. RAMPTON:  No.  Despite the fact that Mr. Morris is sitting
    11        down, I will respond to that.  If it is by way of a witness
    12        statement, that is not so; it would be, of course, if it
    13        was a disclosable document, but I am not talking about
    14        documents.
    15
    16   MR. MORRIS:  How could the evidence then, unless you are
    17        bringing a witness?
    18
    19   MS. STEEL:   How -----
    20
    21   MR. MORRIS:  How can you adduce any evidence without ------
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just pause for a moment.
    24
    25   MR. RAMPTON:  Under the Civil Evidence Act which I expect you
    26        have heard about.
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where do we go in practical terms though,
    29        because suppose Mr. Morris or Ms. Steel indicated that they
    30        were not going to call one or both of those witnesses so
    31        that their statements could be read, and then you did
    32        produce something pursuant to section 7, they would be
    33        entitled to call the witness, would they not?
    34
    35   MR. RAMPTON:  I could not stop them calling a witness, of course
    36        not, no.  I am not suggesting that.
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I know.  I am not suggesting you were, but
    39        what I am contemplating is where do we go then.
    40
    41   MR. MORRIS:  He said earlier on we could not call a witness
    42        unless we put in a Civil Evidence Act witness statement.
    43
    44   MR. RAMPTON:  No, no.  Mr. Morris does not listen to what
    45        I say.  I do not blame him for that; he finds my voice
    46        almost as tiresome as I find his, I have no doubt.  But the
    47        fact is that what you cannot do is read a Civil Evidence
    48        Act statement and then call the witness.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  Which is what we have just been talking about. 
    51 
    52   MR. RAMPTON:  Mr. Morris, I am afraid, my Lord, has lost me.  If 
    53        he decides not to call the witness, then he can read his
    54        own Civil Evidence Act statement at any time.  If he
    55        decides to call a witness, he cannot read the statement
    56        until after the witness has been called.  I, on the other
    57        hand, as I understand this section, can put in Civil
    58        Evidence Act evidence at any stage to discredit, not
    59        discredit, but to undermine the credibility of the witness.
    60

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