The Gazette 1973

Court which will be of inestimable value to all practi- tioners in that Court. This Handbook is most compre- hensive, including amongst the main titles in alpha- betical order—Affiliation Orders (including 1971 Act); Procedure on Appeals from the District Court; Appel- late Jurisdiction of the District Court against Section 33 of Road Traffic Act 1961 re Certificates of Competency and against refusal to grant a lottery or a street permit and against fire precaution notices of a sanitary auth- ority.—Auctioneers and Houseagent Acts 1947 and 1967 —Bankers Books Evidence Act 1879—Appeal against Refusal of Certificate under the Betting Act 1931.— Civil Proceedings including Civil Processes and Costs : —Criminal Jurisdiction including Summary Jurisdic- tion—Dance Licences under the 1935 Act—Procedure under the Enforcement of Courts Orders Acts 1926 and 1940:—Certificates for Salmon and Trout Licences under the Fisheries' Acts:—Game Dealers' Licences under the Game Preservation Act 1930—Gaming Certi- ficates and Lottery Permits under the Act of 1956— General Dealer's Licences under the 1903 Act—The Various Licences under the Intoxicating Liquor Acts— Certificates under the Registration of Clubs (Ireland) Act 1904—Applicant's Declaration of Fidelity to the Nation before Justice under Irish Nationality and Citizen- ship Act 1956—Legal Aid Certificates—Maintenance Orders under the Married Women (Maintenance in case of Desertion) Act 1886 as amended—Moneylenders Certificates under the 1933 Act—Music and Singing Licences under Part 4 of the Public Health (Amend- ment) Act 1890 as amended—Pawnbrokers Certificates under the 1964 Act—Petroleum Licences under the 1871 Act—Small controlled Dwellings in Boroughs under the Rent Restrictin Act 1960 as amended.— Statutory Applications under the Road Traffic Acts 1961 and 1968—Remission and Exemption of District Court Fees—and finally Vacation Periods in the District Court as set out in the District Court Districts (Amend- ment) Order 1970. From thss list it will be noted that Mr. Woods has given us a thorough and comprehensive grasp of every aspect of District Court Practice. He is to be praised for his immense industry, and, in order not to compli- cate his work unduly, he has wisely refrained from citing the relevant cases which will in any event be found on the criminal side in Mr. Crotty's book. This Handbook is an absolute must for all practitioners who handle District Court work. mentation for these cases. The consequent arrears of undischarged cases has of itself added to the difficulty of identifying and associating relevant papers. The Commissioner and his senior officials are now taking special measures which should very soon substantially reduce the arrears and speed the discharge of these cases. It has been laid down as standard practice in the office that all communications are to be acknowledged soon after receipt especially when for one reason or another there might be prospects of delay in issuing a definitive reply. An instruction has issued that an acknowledgement is to be sent to every correspondent in the arrears range as soon as its correspondence is given a reference number. 126

tance, particularly since the House of Lords decision in Rookes v. Barnard (1964) AC}- It is important to realise that "Economic Torts" arises primarily from one's rela- tions with others : in discussing the old action per quod servitium amisit, it is surprising that Kingsmill Moore J's famous judgment in A.-G. v. Ryan's Car Hire Ltd. (1965) I.R. 642, is omitted amongst the numerous well- laid-out notes. The notions of conspiracy, and induce- ment of breach of contract as causing loss by lawful means particularly on the part of trade unions, has become exceptionally important, with the result that the Courts in Ireland tend to prevent the economic chaos that is such an unjustified common feature in Britain today by granting injunctions against picketing; in this connection it is surprising that Cooper v. Millea (1938) I.R., which was approved by the House of Lords in Rookes v. Barnard should have been recently criticised in the Supreme Court. The notion of intimidation as causing loss by unlawful means is rightly condemned, as a serious tort which ultimately induced the British Government to introduce the Industrial Relations Act 1971. Finally there is a useful note on the torts of injurious falsehood, deceit, and passing off. The author commends for the future the decision of the New York Supreme Appeals Court in Morrison v. National Broad- casting Co. (1965). Here the plaintiff, a young univer- sity teacher, was induced to participate as a contestant in a television quiz by the defendant's false represen- tation that it was not rigged, which it was; the public discovered this, and the plaintiff lost reputation and employment. There was no specific head of the law of torts under which he could sue, yet the Court eventually awarded him damages on the novel ground that it was a "violation of strong and prevalent moral standards" not to find for him. As an Oxford don Dr. Heydon has produced a very learned summary of this intricate subject; he has taken full cognisance of the Irish case of James McMahon Ltd. v. Dunne (1965). Strongly recom- mended. Woods (James W.; compiler)—District Court Hand- book. Obtainable from Mr. Woods, District Court Clerk, The Courthouse, Washington Street, Cork; £2.75. Mr. Woods is to be congratulated upon producing a practical volume relating to the procedure of the District

DELAYS IN THE VALUATION OFFICE Representations were recently made on behalf of the Society to the Commissioner of Valuation about unreas- onable delays in the Valuation Office. In a particular case the matter was first referred to the Valuation Office in November 1971 and had not been dealt with by January 1973. Intervening correspondence had pro- duced no result. The Valuation Commissioners in reply stated that there was considerable delay in dealing with the matters. Regrettably delay in dealing with Revenue Cases has been a common occurrence in that office for some time past. This has been due to unavoidable hold- ups in recruitment of staff both professional and clerical and to rapid turnover of clerical staff with resultant scarcity of persons experienced in co-ordinating docu-