Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 23


     
     1        an official record.  It does not become an official record
     2        until after it has been checked with tapes.  They are here
     3        really to provide a CaseView facility on behalf of one
     4        party who claim right to restrict it to the others.
     5
     6        So during the proceedings they are not being employed as
     7        official transcribers by order of the court; yet they are
     8        employed to sit in front of the Judge's bench and to have
     9        access to court facilities including recorded sound upon
    10        which conditions -- first of all, leave should be sought
    11        for McDonald's to have access for their personal use and
    12        conditions can be granted, can be imposed.
    13
    14        So we would contend that they are not official whilst the
    15        hearing is on.  They are not official transcribers.  Maybe
    16        this has come about because of new technology and new
    17        developments but, as far as we can see, they are not
    18        actually official transcribers acting on behalf of the
    19        court while the hearing is taking place at least, yet they
    20        are seen to be part of the court furniture -- there is no
    21        offence to the transcribers who do a magnificent job --
    22        therefore, there is a danger of an impression of bias or
    23        partiality in the court proceedings where people working
    24        for one party are, in fact, being seen to be -----
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You have to look at the rules instead
    27        of -- you cannot just talk to me and tell me what the
    28        position is without looking at the relevant rules and
    29        provisions.
    30
    31   MR. MORRIS:  The provision is that for someone that is not
    32        engaged on -----
    33
    34   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  As far as I am concerned, unless you can show
    35        me otherwise, Barnett Lenton are taking an official
    36        shorthand note.  In fact, it has been taken with the aid of
    37        technology rather than pen and ink, but that does not make
    38        any difference.  Then you go a step further at the expense
    39        of one of the parties.  On top of that is loaded technology
    40        which enables not only a transcript to appear overnight
    41        rather than in some days time, but, without any disrespect
    42        to Miss Foot, I will call a rough transcript, in the sense
    43        that it is not word perfect, appears on a CaseView screen
    44        even now as I speak.
    45
    46        But the route, I would suggest, we start from, is that an
    47        official shorthand note is being taken pursuant to Ord. 68
    48        r. 1.1, I not having directed that it should not be taken.
    49        Then the rule provides for any party being entitled to
    50        demand such number of transcripts from the note as that 
    51        party demands and then what you are supposed to be helping 
    52        me on is where we go from there. 
    53
    54   MR. MORRIS:  You see, our understanding was they were not
    55        official transcripts -----
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Forget transcripts and start with a shorthand
    58        note.  We have not got to the transcripts.  We do not get
    59        to the transcript until a party demands it.  The Plaintiffs
    60        demand the note, the transcript, and we have between 50 and

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