The Gazette 1987

APRIL 1987

GAZETTE

Book Review

issues alone, but gives a detailed study of children's needs and the proposed legislation to protect them. When one considers that the Children's Act of 1908 is still at the foundation of the statutory provi- sion in relation to children, the need for reform is obvious. Alan Shatter examines the Bills presently before the Oireachtas on the Status of Children, the Care and Protection of Children and the Adoption of Children and one can only hope that these Bills in time will become law. Thankfully, this book chronicles some good developments which have taken place in the legislative arena. The Family Law Act of 1981 abolished actions for criminal con- versation and for enticement and harbouring of a spouse. This Act also abolished the action of breach of promise to marry. The Family Law (Protection of Spouses and Children) Act 1981 provides for the making of Barring Orders and Pro- tection Orders. The Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act 1986 abolishes the concept of a wife's dependent domicile on her husband after the commence- ment date, and makes new provi- sions as to when divorces granted in other countries are recognised here. The other main legislative reform was the passing of the Courts Act 1981, which transfers from the High Court to the Circuit Court the primary jurisdiction to deal with family law cases and extends, to a certain extent, the District Court jurisdiction. Whereas this might ap- pear to the lay person to be a good development, in reality this area needs a far more radical approach than a change of Court jurisdiction provides. Alan Shatter details his criticisms and suggests reforms on this matter and refers to the report of the Joint Committee on Marriage Breakdown which had a detailed chapter on the need for a new " Fami ly Court structure". In conclusion, lawyers and law students will find the Third Edition of Mr. Shatter's book invaluable. It provides detailed references to all the judgments which were hereto- fore scattered in unreported judgments, legal journals and reports. The book is well indexed and the footnotes provide in- valuable assistance to the practi-

tioner who wants to investigate in detail a particular point of law. The book also contains statistical infor- mation and analysis on social pro- blems which make it an important source of reference. The use of the book will not be confined to legal personnel; it will be widely read and consulted by all who are in- terested in the family and the laws relating to it.

Shatter's Family Law in tha Republic of Ireland, (Third edition), A l an Joseph Sha t t e r, T.D., B.A.Mod., Dip.Ed., Solicitor. £45.00. The Third Edition of Shatter's Fami- ly Law in the Republic of Ireland embodies in one volume all the diverse sources of material on this subject. The developments that have taken place in this area, both judicial and legislative, have been so numerous over the past six years that Shatter's Third Edition is virtually a new book. The chapter on Nullity of Mar- riage is considerably extended because of the dramatic judicial developments that have taken place. These developments have occurred in the areas of absence of true consent to marriage and of duress and in the inability of a per- son to enter into and sustain a nor- mal marriage relationship. The book discusses all the relevant judgments and it goes on to ex- amine the various reports on the law of Nullity, which include suggested reforms and discusses how the grounds for Nullity could be clarified and possibly extended. However, the author is rightly cautious about using the nullity process as " a legal fiction" for divorce and stresses the need for people to know with certainty that a marriage is valid or not. The chapter on matrimonial pro- perty has been considerably lengthened too. There have been a number of interesting judgments on the wife's right to establish a beneficial interest in property belonging to the husband. Although it details the various judgments and tries to reconcile and distinguish some of the conflic- ting authorities, the position re- mains that legislation is urgently required in this area. As the author states, " t he present law fails to take into account that marriage is a form of partnership in which the parties play interdependent roles and to which the different contribu- tions of each are of equal impor- tance to the family welfare." On the question of custody and guardianship of children, the book does not confine itself to these

Muriel Walls

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