Day 311 - 06 Dec 96 - Page 31


     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  Can we comment on the point of law on this,
     2        because-----
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I am going to give you an opportunity to
     5        respond as a matter of law and you must wait for your turn
     6        to do that.
     7
     8   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  The problem is there is so much that has come
     9        up in the submissions and in this week.  You know, it is
    10        just sort of sweeping past us, and to some extent the court
    11        is entirely -- not entirely but predominantly -- relying on
    12        Mr. Rampton, it has done-----
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not predominantly relying.  I rely on
    15        Mr. Rampton to help me if he can.  You are going to have an
    16        opportunity early next week, because you have told me you
    17        are going to give your written submissions on law on
    18        Monday, to address me upon points of law.
    19
    20   MR. MORRIS:  The point I am making is we are just physically not
    21        capable of dealing with all these matters that the amount
    22        of matters, the amount of research it would take, we are
    23        completely unrepresented, unexperienced, and-----
    24
    25   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not accept that.
    26
    27   MR. MORRIS:  But we are, as a fact.
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Very few matters of law have cropped up.
    30        This is one of them, on the admissibility of evidence.  You
    31        do not have a right of reply on questions of fact.
    32
    33   MR. MORRIS:  I am talking about law.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  But the number of questions of law are
    36        very limited.  You had nearly all of them since October,
    37        anyway, in the legal submissions and it is really only in
    38        so far as I put matters to Mr. Rampton that he might have
    39        added something to them.
    40
    41   MR. MORRIS:  There is a lot of material in his submissions as
    42        well.  I mean, he seems to be, you know, obviously,
    43        fighting for his clients' interests to the Nth degree, and
    44        we do not know whether what he is saying on the law and his
    45        interpretations of the law and the extent of that he is
    46        pushing it, is, in fact, the whole picture or even the
    47        picture at all, and we just cannot deal with it.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You have had Mr. Rampton's submissions in law
    50        since some time fairly early in October.  You have told me 
    51        that you have, in fact, consulted with people who have some 
    52        legal expertise about those and you are going to give me 
    53        some submissions in law which, I assume, will deal, if you
    54        wish to do so, with what he gave you, Mr. Rampton gave you
    55        in writing in October, and any other points you want to
    56        make.
    57
    58        The number of questions of law which have arisen, either in
    59        what Mr. Rampton has put in his written submissions or what
    60        he has said to me in answer to my queries, are very limited

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