Day 169 - 04 Oct 95 - Page 28


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The name of the franchisee company again?
     3
     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.
    11
    12   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If that advice is correct, Mr. Lamti would be
    13        subject to it as well.
    14
    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.
    26
    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.
    30
    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.
    39
    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?
    44
    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. 
    53
    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.
    60

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