Day 301 - 15 Nov 96 - Page 16

     
     1        spontaneously -----
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Very well.  If you want to say that anything
     4        any of it is comment, either as you do that or at some
     5        later stage, please do it.  Because one approach for me
     6        could be to think that it is really all statements of fact
     7        unless you suggest that such and such is a comment.  You
     8        have done that in certain places so far.
     9
    10   MR. MORRIS:   Right.  Can I just say something?   You said
    11        before that you were going to make a judgment on all of the
    12        issues in evidence that you have heard, a detailed
    13        judgment.
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I did not say all of them.  Some, I think,
    16        are totally irrelevant.
    17
    18   MR. MORRIS:   No, but your judgment is going to include all the
    19        substantial issues that have been heard in evidence.
    20
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It will deal with what I see as the issues
    22        which are material, both as to the meaning of the leaflet
    23        and, assuming I think they are statements of fact, whether
    24        it is justified, although there are lots of other things as
    25        well to do with the counterclaim.  It will also have to
    26        deal with whether a statement is comment or partly comment
    27        and partly statement of fact.  But I don't really think it
    28        is for me to promote something as a comment where you have
    29        not suggested that it is.
    30
    31   MR. MORRIS:   The thing is, say, for example, you decide this
    32        section was not defamatory; would that mean that in your
    33        judgment you would not just evaluate the evidence?
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Oh, no, no.  I don't think that would be
    36        right.  But there may be areas in the case where I think a
    37        statement is clearly defamatory, so it is completely
    38        irrelevant to ask whether it is true or not.  I do not want
    39        to -----
    40
    MS. STEEL:   Do you mean clearly not defamatory?
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Not defamatory, yes.
    44
    45   MS. STEEL:   So you would not look at the evidence then?
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   I cannot, I am not going to, say now.  For
    48        instance, look at in what way are McDonald's responsible
    49        for torture and murder.  It is not a very good example, in
    50        fact.
    51
    52   MR. MORRIS:   No.
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   All I will say is, there may be areas of the
    55        case where something clearly is not defamatory, you have
    56        not even suggested that it is defamatory, and yet there has
    57        been evidence about whether it is true or not.  And I may,
    58        when I come to write my judgment, think it is a sheer waste
    59        of paper, effort and reading time of those who read the
    60        leaflet to analyse and evaluate the evidence as to whether