The Gazette 1987

GAZETT APRIL 1987 INCORPORATE D LAWSOCIETY OF IRELAND Vol. 81 No. 3Apri l 1987

GAZETTE

Viewpoints

71

Viewpoints It seems curious that at a time when a major British publisher is announc i ng the f o r t h c om i ng publication of " A Guide to the Small Hotels of Britain and Ireland", new regulations made by Bord Failte seem likely to ensure that, in Dublin and Cork at least, no new small hotels will ever come in- to being. The new regulations which Bord Failte proposes to make in 1987 will require an applicant seeking to register a new hotel in the Dublin and Cork Metropolitan districts to provide at least 45 guest bedrooms. The same regulation will apply to applicants for registra- tion where premises have not been registered in the Register in any of the three preceding years. Practi- tioners will be aware of the con- siderable difficulties which have arisen in relation to "licensed premises" which appeared to have a publican's licence, but where in fact the only licence in existence was a hotel licence, which was no longer valid, the premises being no longer registered as a hotel. The new proposals are disturbing in that they seem to reveal an attitude in Bord Failte which leans in favour of the construction of those faceless hotels whose inter- nal layout is so similar that the visitor loses all sense of identity of the country or city in which the hotel is situate once he passes through its doors. One of the great virtues of the hotel industry in con- tinental Europe, in countries such as France, Switzerland and Austria is the attractive family-run small hotels, even in the largest cities. Impersonality is only too readily available in the current world and it seems a pity that Bord Failte seem determined to increase it's in- fluence in Ireland.

The Judge in Ireland

73

Practice Note

81

Snatch and Grab The publicity given to recent tug-of-love cases involving the removal of children in the custody of one parent in one country to another by the other parent highlights the deficiencies of our legal system in this area. In one case, the President of the High Court, on being advised that the parent who had removed a child from the custody of the other parent in Ireland was believed to have left the juris- diction, was reported as having said that there was little he could do to assist in such circumstances. His position would have been very different had this country become a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduc t i on adopted in 1980, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission in 1985 and given the Convention the force of law in this jurisdiction. The Convention, which the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Portugal and Switzerland have adopted, has as its principal purpose the return to its country of habitual residence of any child who has been unlawfully abducted into another country. The appropriate authority in the coun- try to which the child has been taken is requested to order its return to the country of habitual residence if legal proceedings are instituted. In addition, the Conven- tion establishes a system of co- operation between centralised authorities in each country to facilitate and expedite the repatria- tion process. The Convention, while in one sense limiting the powers of Courts of a country to exercise its own jurisdiction over persons within its (Contd. on p.73)

Reciprocity of Qualifications and Employment Oppor- tunities abroad

83

In Brief

85

Keep it out of Court

89

Book Review

93

Uninsured Drivers — A Legal Submission

95

Professional Information

101

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Executive Editor: Mary Buckley Editorial Board: Charles R. M. Meredith, Chairman John F. Buckley Gary Byrne Daire Murphy Michael V. O'Mahony Maxwell Sweeney Advertising: Sean 0 hOisin. Telephone: 305236 307860 Printing: Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford. The views expressed in this publication, save where otherwise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the Society. The appearance of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for the product or service advertised. Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7. Tel.: 710711. Telex: 31219. Cover photo: ^ 710704 ' Law Society Council Dinner. The President of the Law Society, David R. Pigot (left) with Tom Burgess, Presi- dent, Law Society of Northern Ireland

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