Day 240 - 24 Apr 96 - Page 02
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2 Wednesday, 24th April 1996.
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4 MR. MORRIS: The witness has just nipped out.
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6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. Let me just look at the last paragraph.
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8 There is something I want to ask you: How much of the
9 first statement, I am not concerned about the second, but
10 how much of the first statement do you want to go through?
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12 MR. MORRIS: I was just going to read out the whole statement,
13 basically the first and second statement.
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15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, I am afraid large parts of the first
16 one are totally inadmissible, in my view, on any score. We
17 will look at them in a moment. I want to wait until
18 Mr. Secrett comes back into court.
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20 MR. MORRIS: Yes. I have a supplementary statement from Anne
21 Link, who is coming next Thursday.
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23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. Just pause a moment. (Pause) You have
24 a statement of Miss Link?
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26 MR. MORRIS: Yes, if I can hand it up. (Handed) Could that be
27 put behind her other statement?
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29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. I will look at that later. Let us look
30 at Mr. Secrett. How does Mr. Secrett pronounce his surname,
31 is it Secret, or Secrett?
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33 THE WITNESS: No, it is an English pronunciation, my Lord,
34 Secret.
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36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Secret, yes. I have held a pretty loose rein
37 with expert witnesses when they have come to give
38 opinions. They are obviously entitled to state facts of
39 which they are aware from their first-hand knowledge and,
40 to some extent, they may be able to rely upon hearsay.
41 They can clearly express a view where their special
42 expertise enables them to reach a view which I, as a layman
43 without that expertise, can accept their help on it.
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45 I have then got to evaluate their opinion, looking
46 particularly to see the facts upon which it is based, and
47 all this applies to all the witnesses in the case. In so
48 far as the areas in question which they are giving opinions
49 on are ones where they have an advantage over me by reason
50 of their expertise, it is my duty to hear their opinions,
51 in so far as they are relevant, and then to evaluate those
52 opinions before coming to my own opinion, which, at the end
53 of the day, is all that matters in this case at first
54 instance.
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56 Sometimes in the expert witness statements and the
57 evidence, and it is a tendency which occurs with many
58 expert witnesses, there is a tendency to express an opinion
59 on something which I can form my own view on as well as any
60 expert, once the facts upon which an opinion is to be based
