The Gazette 1971

UNREPORTED IRISH CASES CIVIL LIABILITY ACT — APPLICATION FOR SECONDARY JUDGMENT GRANTED

The action was brought by Seán D. Loftus, chairman and leader of the Christian Democrat Party of Ireland, and eight other members of the party. They had sought a declaration that certain provisions of the Electoral Act, 1963, were repugnant to the Constitution. They also sought a declaration that the decision of the Registrar of Political Parties was wrong in law and invalid; a declaration that the party was a genuine political party within the meaning of Section 13 (2) of the Act; a declaration that it was organised to contest Dáil or local elections; a declaration that the body purporting to be an appeal board was wrongly consti- tuted and its decision was therefore invalid or, alter- natively, a declaration that the decision of the appeal board was wrong in law and invalid. The hearing had lasted for three days and the Presi- dent in his judgment yesterday said that the ground on which the Act was alleged to be unconstitutional was briefly that the section of the Act objected to give to political parties which had gained representation in Dáil Eireann prior to or had representation on the date on which the Act came into force, rights which were not given to other political parties. The parties repre- sented in Dáil Eireann were to be put on the register of political parties automatically while parties not repre- sented had to apply to be put on the register and could only be put on if the Registrar was of opinion that the party was a genuine political party and that it was organised to contest a Dáil election or a local election. Discrimination It was said that this provision of the Statute amounted to a political discrimination and that this was in contra- vention of Article 40 of the Constitution in so far as that Article guaranteed to citizens the right to form associations and unions and it was specifically provided that laws regulating the manner in which the right of forming associations and unions may be exercised should contain no political, religious or class discrimination. The President said that in his view the provisions of the section did not infringe the guarantees given by the Constitution in Article 40. The historical accident that some parties were repre- sented in Dáil Eireann and accordingly entitled to more or less automatic registration as distinct from other par- ties having perhaps identical political objects but not represented in Dáil Eireann and therefore not entitled automatically to registration did not in his view amount to a political discrimination. The President said he thought political discrimination in Article 40, Section 6 (2), of the Constitution was intended to refer to a discrimination being made against citizens forming unions on the grounds of their political objectives and that it was not intended at all to apply to the accidental circumstances arising here, that some parties were represented on the material date; and others were not, and that irrespective of the political objectives of the unregistered parties, all sorts of unreg- istered parties had to comply with the same require- ments in order to get on to the register. "Genuine Party" In his view, the plaintiff's claim that the statute was, in the respect mentioned, unconstitutional and invalid failed. 89

The facts of this case have been set out in 1970 Gazette at page 78. The dispute, as to the requirements of the Motor Insurers Bureau were referred to the Minister for Local Government on 27th April 1970, and the Minister eventually decided on 15th December that the requirements of the Bureau were reasonable. The only remedy available to a claimant, under the Agree- ment of 1955 relating to the Bureau, arises out of an mjury to himself, or the death of a dependant within Section 47 of the Civil Liability Act, 1961. In the Agreement the words, "the plaintiff shall take all reasonable steps" must be read as if the words "to obtain judgement" had been added — this means a judgment of whatsoever kind available to the plain- tiff at the relevant date. The plaintiff has the statutory right under Sec. 38 (2) of the Civil Liability Act, 1961, to apply for a secondary judgment for £3,701 against McCartney. This is the first application for a secondary judgment under the Act. No order was made on the plaintiff's application for costs, but costs were awarded to the defendant McCartney against the plaintiff. [Gillespie v Fitzpatrick and McCartney (No. 2); conclusion of judgment; Murnaghan J.; 1971.] REVENUE In the event of a claim relating to turnover tax based on negligence only, and which includes a penalty of £100 under Section 58 of the Finance Act, 1963, which the Revenue Commissioners can claim, judgment on a High Court summary summons may be marked on the Central Office, if the defendant does not enter an appearance. If, however, no claim was based on a charge that the returns were made fraudulently, the circumstances would require that procedure by plenary summons should be adopted. So held by Kenny J. In this case, the defendant, a grocer in Kells, was sued for £847, and the plaintiff alleged that the defen- dant had negligently made inaccurate returns in the computation of turnover tax. The plaintiff issued a summary summons, which, due to the non-appearance of the defendant, they tried to mark in the Central Office. The officials declined to proceed without the direction of the Judge. \Bedford v Butler; unreported; Kenny J.; 26th April 1971.] REGISTRATION OF PARTIES- ELECTORAL ACT IS HELD TO BE VALID The President of the High Court, Mr. Justice O'Keeffe, yesterday refused to give a declaration that certain provisions of the Electoral Act, 1963, are repugnant to the Constitution and invalid. The President granted, however, a declaration sought by members of the Christian Democrat Party of Ireland that an appeal board which sat to consider an appeal from a decision of the Registrar of Political Parties refusing to register the party as a political party was wrongly constituted and that its decision was therefore invalid.