Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 55


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, it is 1970 2 All England Reports, page
     3        609 at page 614, and the reference in Phipson is paragraph
     4        22-13 at page 592.  But what, as I understand it, the
     5        situation is there you have a transcript of evidence which
     6        in some subsequent case you are putting in as the statement
     7        of the person giving the evidence.
     8
     9   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  We are not in that situation here.  We have
    12        heard the evidence of the witness and that is the evidence,
    13        not the reduction of that to transcript form.  Is that
    14        right, Mr. Rampton?
    15
    16   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, that is right.  The transcript of earlier
    17        proceedings is a pre-existing document which may well be
    18        relevant to a question which arises in subsequent
    19        proceedings.  The transcript of the evidence given on the
    20        first day which appears from the transcript on the second
    21        day cannot possibly fit that bill.  It is a mere record of
    22        what the person said and no more than that.  Put it at its
    23        simplest, the evidence is the evidence.  Once it has been
    24        given, a record of the evidence adds nothing and could not
    25        possibly be within the scope of discovery.  I will develop
    26        that in a moment, if I may.
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    29
    30   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, first of all, can I pass up a page from
    31        Halsbury's Laws, 4th Edition Volume XIII.   I pose the
    32        question:  What is the purpose and function of discovery in
    33        a civil action?  One answer might be found in paragraph 1
    34        on page 2 of this volume of Halsbury's Laws:
    35
    36             "Meaning, function of discovery:  The term
    37             'discovery' in this title is used to describe
    38             the process by which the parties to the civil
    39             court or matter are enabled to obtain within
    40             certain defined limits full information of the
    41             existence and the contents of all relevant
    42             documents relating to the matters in question
    43             between them.  The process of the discovery of
    44             documents operates generally in three successive
    45             stages, that (1) the disclosure of writing by
    46             one party to the other of all the documents
    47             which he has or has had in his possession,
    48             custody or power relating to matters in question
    49             in the proceedings;
    50 
    51             (2) the inspection of the documents disclosed 
    52             other than those for which privilege from or 
    53             other objection of production is properly
    54             claimed or raised;
    55
    56             (3) the production of the documents disclosed
    57             either for inspection by the opposite party or
    58             to the court.
    59
    60             The function of the discovery of documents is to

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