Day 233 - 26 03 96 - Page 57
DAY 233
1 know that -----
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is just over two years. It will be two
4 years on 28th June.
5
6 MR. RAMPTON: That is right. What I had in mind was this and,
7 of course, it is entirely a matter for your Lordship.
8 Everybody will need a holiday, including (I imagine) even
9 your Lordship but I certainly will. The Defendants will
10 need time to write their closing speech, perhaps rather
11 more time than I will because I have the assistance of
12 Mr. Atkinson, Mrs. Brinley-Codd and so on. I had in mind
13 that if we stopped, apart from the fact that it is
14 Mr. Morris' school holiday -- not his but his son's school
15 holiday starts then -- if one allowed from 18th July a
16 period of, say, 12 weeks before one made the speeches.
17 That would give everybody time for a proper holiday away
18 from the case, forget about it -- it does not matter when
19 that happens; that is up to the people concerned -- and a
20 period of eight weeks in which to get a towel round one's
21 head and actually write a speech on the basis of all the
22 evidence given over the course of the past two years; thus
23 bringing one to about the second week of October to make
24 the speeches.
25
26 My Lord, I only float that as an idea. It appeals to me
27 for personal reasons, which is the third reason I want to
28 mention, is that it would inconvenience my private life no
29 end if I had to be in court in the week of 22nd July.
30 I made an arrangement for that week which, with hindsight,
31 looks extremely foolish, thinking that the case might be
32 finished by then. I hope that it will. That was the third
33 thing I was going to mention, as I think I ought to.
34
35 Beyond that, I hope your Lordship will think that what
36 I have done here, though obviously the blocks of evidence
37 or bits of the blocks of evidence can be shifted around,
38 represents a realistic way of looking at the future conduct
39 and, one says with some delight, conclusion of this case.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, thank you. What I would like you to do,
42 Ms. Steel and Mr. Morris, is when we come back on Thursday
43 the most important thing is to deal with your argument on
44 possible reamendment of the Statement of Claim with regard
45 to publication and your application to amend your defence
46 in the form which was handed up to me this morning. But,
47 when that is done, I would like to hear what you have to
48 say about the proposed schedule, and the particular matters
49 which I would like you to help me on are, firstly, that
50 your rainforest witnesses are put in as from Thursday, 18th
51 April, and it is important before we have the last hearing
52 this term to hear anything you wish to say about that,
53 because what would not help any of us is to come back at
54 the beginning of next term and find that you have
55 difficulty with one or more of your rainforest witnesses
56 during that period. If you know there is going to be real
57 difficulty, that might be a ground for rethinking the order
58 of witnesses in the schedule.
59
60 The second matter is what you would like to say about time
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