The Gazette 1971

ing international comparisons and in examining ideas based upon the problem as it exists in other countries we have been most careful to consider the relevance of both the problem to ours and the possible solution to our situation. Two Examples (a) Legal fees in the U.S. are estimated as over 35 per cent of all claim payments. In the U.S. there is the practice of charging contingency fees which, of course, does not apply here. It would therefore be unwise to transpose the U.S. problem to our situation and use it as an estimate. Only the facts of our own situation would constitute a valid basis for any judgement. (b) The Auditor mentioned knock for knock agree- ments. Here again is an example of the danger of com- paring the experiences of different countries. A good deal of argument has taken place in Britain about this subject and some well-informed articles have appeared in the responsible British press. There is The Financial Times article of July 1970 by John Drummond. What may not generally be recognised, however, is that the beneficial effects of the knock for knock agreements are not fully experienced in the Republic because it is estimated that fewer than 10 per cent of policyholders have comprehensive insurance whereas the percentage in the United Kingdom would be of the order of 70 per cent. The "Band-Waggon Syndrome" There is a recent phenomenon which may be termed the "band-wagon syndrome". This is the disposition to which many Irish people faced with problems in the economic and business life, the disposition which they seem to have to jump on the band-wagon of any new idea which may come from abroad. I instance for example the latest management technique, whatever it may be or as another instance you can take the case of our union structure which is entirely based on the United Kingdom model. This band-wagon syndrome, however, has an additional feature in that with unerring judgement we leap onto the band-wagon just at the point of time when it is about to fall apart and when those who created it and set it rolling have already long since departed to set up another band-wagon some- where else. Now this is a phenomenon to which we tend to be addicted and it is one which we must be very

careful to avoid if we are to make a solution to our problems not just relevant for the moment and in the shortest of short terms but on a lasting basis which will have relevance to our position, status and our relation- ships with the public in the long-term future. In this regard, of course, we pay particular attention to the European situation and we have given careful consid- eration and examination to the European aspects of this problem. We are also conscious of the fact that a com- mittee of experts appointed by the Council of Europe has already reported to the European Committee on Legal Co-operation. On the subject of civil liability of motorists, I.am not in a position to quote from this document which has at the present moment a restricted circulation. I can assure you that alternative solutions are being objectively and totally dispassionately considered with the sole criterion the ultimate good on a long-term basis of the insuring public. I regret I cannot elaborate on the points I have made in any greater detail because of the obvious confidentiality of the work in which we are engaged. Motorists were urged by a Dublin law professor last night to read their conditions of insurance very carefully and especially to see that passenger coverage was ade- quate to meet all contingencies. A ceiling of a couple of thousand pounds would not go near meeting the damages of a passenger who hap- pened to be a highly successful professional person, said Professor R. F. V. Heuston, Regius Professor of Law, Dublin University. Professor Heuston said that the record award in Irish Courts—£87,400 in 1960 for a solicitor injured in a car accident—exceeded the highest made in English courts by about £10,000. This largely was due to two factors, the practice here of trying such cases by jury and the fact that we had no national health service. Thus, insur- ance companies had to look after badly-injured people, whereas in England this was thrown open to the com- munity at large. Since 1961, he added, thirteen insurance companies in England had failed. This meant that one in ten English motorists had found himself at some stage uninsured. The reason they were driven to such com- panies was probably that they had been turned down by the more reputable companies. WJien the jury returned the murder verdict after a seventeen-minute absence, Mr. Bolton asked the fore- man if they wanted anyone to be charged with the murder. The foreman replied: "The person referred to as Mr. X." Earlier, Mr. Rowland Lee, representing the Chief Constable of Hertfordshire, said the identity of Miss Brazier's killer had been "very closely known" to the police for a long time. "The girl was most thoroughly murdered, and X was the murderer," he said. In view of the amount of work the police had done, the temptation to name him had been very great. But a great deal of harm would have been done to relatives and associates. The Daily Telegraph (22nd April 1971)

Dead murderer not to be named An inquest jury at Hertford last night said that a dead man was the murderer of Nicola Brazier, twenty, who was found bound and shot through the head in a Hert- fordshire wood last September. But his identity will never be known to anyone but his family and the police. The coroner, Mr. James Bolton, ruled that public interest did not require him to name the man, referred to as Mr. X, or authorise that he should be named. He had taken into account the misery that naming him would inevitably bring to his family, friends and many other people.

Against that he had to consider the possible advan- tage in the public interest of naming the man. Police had questioned a large number of people and suspicion had fallen on a number of them.

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