Day 169 - 04 Oct 95 - Page 28
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2 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The name of the franchisee company again?
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4 MR. RAMPTON: Vilpaix. Given that advice from the French lawyer
5 Monsieur Antelinos and his deputy, Mr. Touilloux, have said
6 that they do not feel that they can sensibly come to this
7 country to give evidence about those matters, all of which
8 arise in this case too; nor can they supply us with written
9 statements, nor can they let us have any documents
10 whatsoever.
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12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If that advice is correct, Mr. Lamti would be
13 subject to it as well.
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15 MR. RAMPTON: That is not my problem. What I was going to add
16 was, there is nothing I can do about that. That is a
17 matter for Monsieur Lamti. If he wishes or does not mind
18 exposing himself to liability under French law, if the
19 advice is correct, then that must be his decision. It is
20 certainly not a matter for me to give Mr. Lamti legal
21 advice, and my belief is that since it is a question of
22 French law, it would not in any sense prevent your Lordship
23 from hearing the evidence if the witness should decide that
24 despite -- he may not have been given that advice, I do not
25 know.
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27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I mean, I will hear any witness who is
28 called into the witness box provided the evidence is
29 relevant.
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31 MR. RAMPTON: Quite. I am not concerned with Monsieur Lamti.
32 If he chooses to come over here, maybe the advice is wrong,
33 I do not know, but that is what we have been told. A
34 practical consequence is I cannot call any French witnesses
35 which means, and this is really what I need help from your
36 Lordship about -- I could just say I am not calling any
37 French witnesses and leave it at that, but I thought in the
38 circumstances it right to tell your Lordship why.
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40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Accepting for the purpose of this discussion
41 that what you have said is correct in French law, do you
42 have any instructions on how long the embargo is likely to
43 last?
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45 MR. RAMPTON: It lasts as long as the matter is under
46 examination by the examining Magistrate. When he or she
47 has made a decision whether or not to proceed, then
48 I believe the embargo is lifted, but my information
49 speaking to the French lawyer was that is not likely to be
50 for some considerable time. He was not willing to put a
51 definite terminus on the instruction proceedings, but
52 plainly it is months away yet.
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54 It looks to me from what I know as though the French
55 proceed even more slowly than we do in these matters.
56 Certainly, I am in no position to suppose that it might end
57 at a time when we could sensibly expect to call our French
58 witnesses before the Defendants' French witnesses in
59 November.
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