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GAZETTE
' APRIL 1990
graph and accompanied by a map
showing the point from which they
were taken and the direction. The
reason they are not generally
necessary is that the Arbitrator will
invariably inspect the site, and he
will have been put on notice in the
course of the evidence as to what
to look out for. One can, of course,
have the situation where both sides
insist on presenting a set of
photographs, the Claimant's invari-
ably taken in brilliant sunshine, and
the Acquiring Authority's in the rain
with some rubbish carefully strewn
in the foreground. This tends to
reduce considerably the impact the
photographs may have been de-
signed to make, and will almost
certainly result in both sets being
consigned to their envelopes and
not looked at again.
When the witness is called by his
Counsel he will walk to the witness
box, or the position indicated by
Counsel or the Arbitrator, and he
will be handed the Bible. He will
hold the Bible in his right hand and
repeat the Oath, or he may affirm.
The Arbitrator will then ask him to
state his full name and invite him
to sit down. His Counsel will ask
him to hand in a copy of his report
or Precis of Evidence and will give
a copy to the other side. He will
then start by establishing the
witnesses' credentials and take
him through his evidence.
It is a matter for arrangement
beforehand between the Counsel
and the Witness as to how this
evidence (known as the evidence in
chief) will be given, whether it will
be on a question and answer basis
or whether it will be on the lines of
a request to read through his report
and elaborate if necessary on what
he has written there. A lot can
depend on the relevant expertise
and the experience of Counsel and
Witness.
There are a number of general
points which I would like to make
as to how the witness should give
his evidence and his general de-
portment in the witness box. Most,
if not all, witnesses will feel ner-
vous when called to give evidence.
This can affect different people in
different ways; some hide it well,
some cannot, some allow it to
affect their performance while in
others it merely gets the adrenalin
going and helps their concentra-
tion. It is pointless saying there is
no need to be nervous. But bear in
mind that if one has done one's
homework, and if one restricts
oneself to telling the truth and
stating opinions that one honestly
holds there is little need for worry.
Perhaps the main reason for
nervousness is the fear that one
will suffer at the hands of cross-
examining Counsel, and certainly
this worry is well founded where a
witness is perhaps not being totally
truthful or is illprepared. However,
most Counsel, and in particular the
experienced ones, are courteous
and have no wish to belittle or
embarrass a witness if they are
satisfied that he is not trying to pull
the wool over their eyes. It is
generally only the inexperienced
Counsel who will ask unnecessary
questions, and depend on the
bludgeon rather than the rapier
which the experienced man will
use to far greater effect.
The witness should remember
that he has sworn to tell the whole
truth. Apart altogether from the risk
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