Chapter M: CHAMPETIER DE RIBES: The French Prosecution has laid before the

Tribunal a note requesting rejection of Document Number Göring-26. It concerns indeed an extract from a note from the German Government to the French Government regarding the treatment of German prisoners of war in France. This extract refers to a secret order from the headquarters of the general commanding the 9th French Army. This extract says that the general commanding the 9th French Army published an order; this order was not given to us. We are dealing only with an assertion of the German Government, which is the government of the defendant. The extract which is offered to us has therefore no relevancy and we ask the Tribunal to reject it.

THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal, at the moment, is not considering the question of relevancy of particular documents. They are considering only the general question of method as to whether all these documents have to be read out to the Tribunal or whether they can be laid before the Tribunal for the Tribunal’s consideration. If they have got to be read out in full it will take a very considerable time, and therefore Mr. Justice Jackson has suggested that instead of all these documents being read out in full, which will take a very long time, as they have been translated, the reason for that no longer exists as it did exist in the case of the documents put in by the Prosecution which had not been translated. But that does not mean that the question of relevancy of individual documents or particular passages in the documents is decided by the document books being presented for the consideration of the Tribunal. Such questions as that may, in important cases, have to be considered after argument, but as a general rule and for the purpose of avoiding delay, the suggestion of Mr. Justice Jackson appears to have a very great deal to recommend it.