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One consequence of the Commissione r's failure to
interpret the terms of reference is that there has been no
overall consideration of the relevance or otherwise of
particular lines of enquiry with a view to discarding the
irrelevant. As a result it is probable that some person's
reputations will suffer when it is obvious that the draftsman
of the terms of reference never intended their foibles or
misdeeds to be canvassed by this Inquiry. This approach by the Commission to its jurisdiction goes some way towards
explaining why there have been over 9000 foolscap pages of transcript (with at least as many pages of witnesses statements/documents) since the Inquiry resumed.
It
appears that any matters of passing interest can be explored
in exhaustive detail (and reported by the Press) to see whether
it is relevant to the matters with which the Inquiry is concerned.
In any normal court or tribunal the adjudicator decides at
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