The Gazette 1924-27

DECEMBER, 1926]

The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

27

the Society. My valued friend and colleague, Mr. F. G. McKeever, of Drogheda, a member of the Council; Mr. Croker Barrington, a past member of the Council; Sir Charles Brett, Belfast ; Mr. John Read, Dublin ; Mr. J. H. McLoughlln, Dublin ; Mr. Edward A. Shaw, Mullingar ; Mr. J. F. Williams, Dungarvan ; Mr. W. J. Dunlea, Cork; and Mr. Michael M. Kenny, Longford. We tender to the relatives of each of these our sympathy. The several matters of importance that have arisen during the past year are so fully dealt with in the Report of the Council that it is unnecessary for me to address you at any length. The Courts of Justice Act, 1924. The fundamental principle of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924, is the decentralisation of the administration of justice. At our meeting in May last, whilst I stated that your Council and the profession generally would continue to do everything possible to make the new administration and its procedure a success, I ventured to question the wisdom of the Act. It is becoming more manifest every day that if the Irish Free State is to make progress and become really prosperous it can only be done by cultivating friendly relations with England and the world beyond our shores; by extending our trade and commerce, and by broadening and strength– ening our credit.. That credit can only rest on a sure foundation when it is made clear that there is machinery provided for a certain and speedy enforcement of obligations. Under the old procedure a creditor for any substantial sum, by taking proceedings in the High Court, could obtain a judgment for his debt in a few weeks at most and at a small cost, which was fixed and reasonable, and at the same time the defendant was amply protected against any chance miscarriage of justice. Under the new system a creditor a merchant in London, Manchester, Glasgow or Dublin is practically compelled, unless his claim exceeds £300, to sue his debtor in the local Circuit Court with all the consequent delay entailed by the fact that that Court only sits at intervals of months, with the great expense of bringing witnesses to a remote country town, and with a further prospect of having to defend an appeal after he has

obtained the judgment of the Circuit Court. This is not likely to encourage wholesale merchants to give credit, and there are not wanting signs that the Act has already had some effect in drying up that credit. No doubt a creditor may institute proceedings in the High Court, but if the amount claimed does not exceed £300, the defendant can always move to transfer the action to the local Circuit Court, and in any event, the plaintiff can only recover the costs payable in respect of a like claim brought in the Circuit Court. Apart from its effect on credit, it cannot be said that so far the Circuit Courts provide a speedy remedy. There are only eight Circuit Courts for the whole of the 26 counties, and in many counties the arrears are accumulating, and with the additional work put upon them by the greatly increased jurisdiction, it is impossible for the Judges to overtake the arrears. Court Officers Act, 1926. This Act, which is supplementary to the Courts of Justice Act, became law in July last. During its progress as a Bill in Parlia– ment your Council gave close attention to all the provisions of the Bill, and a deputa– tion submitted to the Minister a number of suggested amendments, with a view to insuring that the principal officers to be appointed under the Act should be persons who had skilled knowledge of the work they would have to discharge, evidenced either by their professional standing or gained by their experience in similar offices. Some of the suggestions were adopted by the amend– ments brought in by the Minister himself, but they did not go so far as the Council desired. One of our great difficulties in dealing with measures of this kind, so intimately affecting the profession, is that these Bills are drafted without any previous consultation with your Council or with any members of the profession, and once so drafted it is difficult to make any impression on the Minister or party responsible for the draft. The effect that the Act had is to make very sweeping changes in the working of the offices attached to the several Courts of Justice. These changes were effected as from 1st October, and as a result a number of the old and experienced officers have