Day 280 - 17 Jul 96 - Page 43
1 back is Monday the 7th October for some formal evidence.
2 For instance proving that certain documents are records for
3 the purposes of the Civil Evidence Act, so that they are
4 admissible under the Civil Evidence Act, you have got as
5 much time as you can reasonably call for by then, starting
6 from about now.
7
8 MS. STEEL: Well, we cannot actually start straightaway because
9 everything is in total disarray and needs to be sorted out.
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I dare say but you can get hold of it fairly
12 quickly and you can do some preparation without documents
13 and if all your papers are in disorder, I do not think I
14 can properly extend the length of the trial as long as it
15 has been to cope with that. I have said something about
16 this to you before. I do not remember any time when I was
17 at the bar when I would not have welcomed another hour or
18 two or another day to get better prepared. But a limit has
19 got to be put so that you can work to it.
20
21 MS. STEEL: It is just that it seems that we might have a week
22 at the end which is effectively going to be useless which
23 could put to good use before hand.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is certainly not useless. If we finish a
26 week earlier because of that, if my judgment comes earlier
27 than that, so much the better. I am not saying we should
28 take the whole of the Autumn term to deal with submissions.
29 I am saying there is no way we should go -- I do not know
30 the end of the autumn term and if you can finish
31 comfortably before the end of it, so much the better. Do
32 you want to say anything Mr. Morris?
33
34 MR. MORRIS: No.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, I will give these directions. That we
37 will resume on Monday the 7th October for any evidence
38 which is required formally to prove documents which have
39 not been agreed between the parties. We shall resume on
40 Monday the 14th October, after the beginning of
41 submissions. If we do not need the week of Monday, the 7th
42 October or all of it for proving documents then you may
43 have it as extra preparation time. But the defendants'
44 submissions must finish not later than Friday the 26th
45 November. I am content to leave to it you as to whether
46 one of you presents your submissions first, followed by the
47 other, or whether you propose to present them in two parts,
48 but I would like you to tell me as you start to make your
49 submissions, which procedure you propose to follow. I will
50 restrict Mr. Rampton to three sitting weeks. That is
51 fifteen sitting days for his submissions and you will be
52 entitled to reply to Mr. Rampton on points of law only
53 after he has spoken. If my recollection serves me
54 correctly, you can really only reply to points of law which
55 he has raised, arguments of law which he has raised for
56 first time, but I am prepared not to be strict about that
57 and if you have suddenly got to grips with some legal
58 argument, I will allow you to respond, but your response
59 must finish by the end of term if, indeed, you want to
60 respond at all, and that is a timetable which will both
