[O. 68, rr. 1-4

ORDER 68

OFFICIAL SHORTHAND NOTE

1. (1) In every action or other proceeding which is tried or heard with witnesses, an official shorthand note may, if the Judge so directs, be taken of any evidence given orally in court and of any ruling or judgment delivered by the Judge, and, if any party so requires, the note so taken shall be transcribed at his cost and such number of transcripts as any party may demand shall be supplied to him at his cost.

(2) Nothing in this rule shall be construed as prohibiting the supply of transcripts to persons not parties to the proceedings who are willing to meet the cost of being so supplied.

2. (1) If the Judge intimates that in the event of an appeal his note will be sufficient, the shorthand note of the evidence need not be transcribed for the purposes of an appeal.

(2) If the parties agree or the Judge is of opinion that the evidence or some part of the evidence of any witness would, in the event of an appeal, be of no assistance to the Court of Appeal, the shorthand note of such evidence need not be transcribed for the purposes of an appeal.

(3) If any party requires a transcript of any such evidence as aforesaid the charge therefore shall be borne by that party in any event.

3. (1) An appellant shall not be required to pay for the transcript to which a certificate given under this rule relates but, except as aforesaid, any transcript required for the Court of Appeal shall be paid for by the appellant in the first instance.

(2) Where the Judge by whom any such proceeding as is referred to in rule 1 was tried or heard or the Court of Appeal is satisfied that an appellant in that proceeding is in such poor financial circumstances that the cost of a transcript would be an excessive burden on him, and, in the case of a transcript of evidence, that there is reasonable ground for the appeal, the Judge or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be, may certify that the case is one in which it is proper that the said cost should be borne by public funds.

(3) An application for a certificate under this rule must be made in the first instance to the Judge; if the application is refused, the application (if any) to the Court of Appeal must be made within 7 days after the refusal.

(4) Where an application is made to the Court of Appeal for a certificate under this rule, then, if the Court of Appeal is of opinion that for the purpose of determining the application it is necessary for that Court to see a transcript of the judgment, with or without a transcript of the evidence, the Court of Appeal may certify that both transcripts or, as the case may be, only a transcript of the judgment may properly be supplied for the use of that Court at the expense of public funds.

(5) No transcript supplied for the use of the Court of Appeal under a certificate given under paragraph (4) shall be handed to the appellant except by direction of the Court of Appeal.

(6) Where the Judge or the Court of Appeal certifies under paragraph (2), that there is reasonable ground for the appeal, the appellant may be supplied with as many free copies of the transcript referred to in the certificate as will, together with any free copies already supplied under a certificate given under paragraph (4), make up a total of one for his own use and three for the use of the Court of Appeal.

(7) References in this rule to an appellant include references to an intending appellant.

4. (1) Where the Judge by whom any such proceeding as is referred to in rule 1 was tried or heard or the Court of Appeal is satisfied that the respondent to an appeal in that proceeding is in such poor financial circumstances that the costs of obtaining a transcript, or a specified part thereof, for the purpose of resisting the appeal would be an excessive burden on him, the Judge or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be, may certify that

[O. 68, rr. 4-6

the case is one in which it is proper that the cost of the transcript or that part thereof, as the case may be, should be borne by public funds, and where such a certificate is given the respondent shall not be required to pay the said cost.

(2) Rule 3(3) shall apply in relation to an application for a certificate under this rule as it applies in relation to an application for a certificate under that rule.

5. The number of transcripts to be supplied by the appellant for the use of the Court of Appeal shall be the number for which Order 59 rule 17(1)(b) provides in relation to the appeal in question, and that number when bespoken by the appellant and paid for, shall be sent by the official shorthand writer direct to the Court of Appeal.

6. In this Order any reference to a shorthand note of any proceedings shall be construed as including a reference to a record of the proceedings made by mechanical means and, in relation to such a record, the reference in rule 5(1) to the official shorthand writer shall be construed as a reference to the person responsible for transcribing the record.