Day 305 - 25 Nov 96 - Page 15
1 pre-October 1989. So, in fact, they have not got any
2 evidence of any production after that, anyway. They have
3 not got any evidence of it before. But they cannot rely on
4 any inference.
5
6 MS. STEEL: Can I just ask something about what you said just
7 now?
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
10
11 MS. STEEL: I did say this on Friday, that, as stated in
12 Hebditch v. Macilwaine:
13
14 "There is no remedy for writing a defamatory
15 article, even if it is written for the purpose
16 of distribution."
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There is not just in the writing, if it ends
19 there. I mean, I could write something which is libelous
20 -- and I try not to, but I could write something which is
21 libelous -- with a view to publication and I could then
22 throw it on to the fire. That would not be a publication.
23
24 But what I think is said here, this much is clear, someone
25 produced this leaflet in fairly large numbers -- if
26 Mr. Gravett is right, not later than 1987; if I do not
27 accept his evidence on that, perhaps later -- but, in any
28 event, let us assume it was 1986 and 1987; someone produced
29 it in fairly large numbers. They clearly did so for
30 publication. There would be no point in producing it in
31 large numbers unless it was for publication. They intended
32 to have it published in fairly large numbers. If they did
33 that, even if their active part then stopped, they are
34 responsible for publications which occur thereafter; and if
35 any of those publications occurred between September 1987
36 and September 1990, they caused or authorised those and
37 they are liable for any libel.
38
39 MS. STEEL: I do not know the exact legal position, but I would
40 think that maybe you could argue that in terms of writing
41 it, but you certainly could not argue that in terms of
42 printing it, because if the production was arranging for
43 the printing, then you cannot be responsible for subsequent
44 print runs and what happened to leaflets printed later on.
45
46 The other point I would like to make is that if you do not
47 accept Mr. Gravett's evidence on publication, on when the
48 leaflet was produced, there is actually no other evidence
49 about when the leaflet is produced. It is not a question
50 of choosing somebody else's evidence rather than
51 Mr. Gravett's. His is the only evidence.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There are a whole load of permutations here.
54 I may think that there is pretty conclusive evidence that
55 it was originally produced for World Day in October 1986
56 and that some time in 1987 more copies -- this is all very
57 much "may", because I have not made up my mind -- may have
58 been further copies produced after the handouts in the
59 Autumn of 1986 and early 1987; then, whether or not I find
60 that, despite his denials, there must have been reprints or
