Day 143 - 27 Jun 95 - Page 39
1 support of your case other than the ones you have called as
2 the case has gone along and we have dealt with compartment
3 by compartment?" It may not be as formal as this but this
4 is the strict procedure.
5
6 When Ms. Steel has closed her case, I will ask you if you
7 wish to give evidence. We will hear what you want to say.
8 I will then ask Ms. Steel if she wishes to ask you
9 questions. When she has finished, if she does wish to ask
10 you questions, Mr. Rampton will cross-examine you. Then
11 I will ask you: "Is there anything further you want to
12 say?" Then you will have the opportunity to call any
13 further witness whom you want to call.
14
15 Subject, all this, particularly in relation to calling of
16 other witnesses, to any comment which any party wishes to
17 say about adopting a different procedure.
18
19 MR. MORRIS: Thank you for explaining it.
20
21 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I will say this because I think it may be
22 helpful: I entirely accept and adopt your Lordship's
23 observations about the significance of documents which are
24 inadmissible on the question of justification in defence of
25 the main action. They have no bearing. I shall continue
26 to maintain my objections to the sort of use which
27 Mr. Morris was trying to make of them this morning whenever
28 that should arise. It is not a fit matter to cross-examine
29 Mr. Stein about.
30
31 So far as malice and the counterclaim are concerned, my
32 Lord, they are probably two sides of the same coin, but
33 that can be discussed at a later stage in the case.
34 I would say only this, that the question which the
35 Defendants have to grapple with on those matters, both
36 malice and the counterclaim, is not what might have
37 supported a belief had they known about a document at the
38 time, but what was actually within their knowledge and
39 possession at the time when they distributed the leaflet,
40 if they did.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. I have not raised that at the moment
43 because I see, for instance, the document we have open here
44 is dated 13th December 1989.
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: That is why I used the two forms of words. Its
47 date is a starting point, but that is not the decider. The
48 decider is when the Defendants first got it.
49
50 MS. STEEL: But in relation to the counterclaim, because some of
51 the pleadings state that because of what the Plaintiffs
52 have served on us since the case started, we should have
53 known that everything was false, later documents are
54 relevant.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It may be but we can have all this out
57 later. While it is on my mind (and we will get on the
58 cross-examination of Mr. Stein), I do want agreement
59 between the parties, if possible (otherwise I will rule on
60 it), as to precisely which stage you are to give evidence,
