Day 279 - 12 Jul 96 - Page 29
1 equivalent of something like a three week complete break
2 and about a week on each of the topics, adding publication
3 and counterclaims topics to the ones we have in the
4 abstract of pleadings.
5
6 If we resumed on Monday 7th October, even if there is
7 one week devoted to formal proof of documents and I hope
8 that is not necessary, there would be the nine weeks to the
9 end of term. What I have in mind is that there be an
10 absolute maximum, and I hope it could be less, of six weeks
11 for Miss Steel and Mr. Morris to deliver their
12 submissions. I would need them to tell me whether they
13 propose to do it together, in which case there would be an
14 absolute maximum of six weeks, or whether they propose to
15 do it separately, and they must make a choice, in which
16 case it would be three weeks each. There would then be
17 three weeks for Mr. Rampton, despite what he said other
18 day.
19
20 But in that three weeks, I would be allowing for any
21 response from Miss Steel and Mr. Morris on new points of
22 law, which it is their only point of reply. You are
23 entitled to reply on new matters of law which the
24 plaintiff's counsel has raised during his submissions. I
25 have said three weeks rather than the more limited time
26 that Mr. Rampton indicated, because of course I may want to
27 ask Mr. Rampton things and so time has not to be allowed
28 for him to answer any queries of mine.
29
30 Again, if matters cannot be dealt with within that
31 time schedule, I think they become too complicated. I am
32 quite prepared for there to be a fair amount of reference,
33 by reference to bundles and pages, and transcript days and
34 pages and things of that kind. It is quite clear that this
35 is the kind of case where someone could address the court
36 almost ad infinitum, going through vast tracts of the
37 evidence and making a comment as they want. That is not
38 the way to do it and no one must think that they are
39 letting the side down because they do not approach the
40 matter in that way.
41
42 What is required is a degree of analysis and reference
43 to the facts, the essential facts, which it is thought are
44 particularly important and the reference to the, however
45 shortly, to the evidence which it is suggested goes to
46 prove those facts. I think I have probably said as much in
47 the notes I gave you many months ago to try and help you
48 with your final submissions. Does anyone want to say
49 anything about that? You can say it next week if you
50 want. But I make it clear that those are not the figures I
51 started off with. I started off with shorter figures and I
52 have expanded them considerably.
53
54 MS. STEEL: I was not quite sure what you meant by if we did it
55 together and if we did it separately.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, if you say that you want to address me
58 jointly, in harness as it were, as you did in
59 cross-examination, then you have got, you would have a
60 maximum of six weeks in which both of you would have to get
