The Gazette 1984

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND GAZETTE Vol. 78 No. 1

January/February 1984

In this issue . . .

Comment. . .

. . . Regulation Without Responsibility

Comment

3

Doctrine of Severability in

the Judicial Review of Legislation

5 ' T ' H E Maysfield Leisure Centre Fire in Belfast, with its X lesser echoes of the Stardust tragedy, highlighted 11 again the delays in introducing in this jurisdiction the long-promised building regulations. It is generally 15 understood that this delay has been in large part due to the difficulty in agreeing a self-certification system with 16 the professional bodies in the architectural, engineering and surveying fields. What is less widely understood is that the self-certifica- tion system has been suggested by the Department of the Environment, not out of a desire to provide a speedy 20 system not involving bureaucratic control, but out of self- protection. The existing control of the buildings — as opposed to town planning — under Building Byelaws 21 (principally in Dublin and Cork) has been carried out by inspectors of the local authority. The Courts both in England and Ireland have in recent years in cases such as 24 Dutton -v- Bognor Regis UDC[\912] 1 Q.B. 373 and Anns- v- Merton London Borough Council [1978] A.C. 728 and Siney -v- Dublin Corporation [1980] I.R. 400 laid down 25 clearly that a public body exercising control in such circumstances necessarily incurs liabilities to those who 28 may inhabit, visit or purchase buildings which have been the subject of such control and supervision. Perceiving that the extension of building control to all areas would involve a considerable increase not only in 30 the number of public bodies at risk, but also in the extent of their risk, because of the greater stringencies of the draft building regulations as opposed to the Byelaws, the Department appears to have moved to protect such bodies from the consequences of the use of the same system of control over building regulations as previously 17 29 Another recent example of a public body reneging on ' tS res P ons ibilities has been in the area of the completion of roads and services on housing estates. The normal practice has been for the local authority to require the applied to Byelaws.

Small attendance at Society's AGM

Practice Notes

Bicentenary of Blackhall Place

Investment of Court Awards

Presentation of Ship's Bell to

Admiralty Court

Companies (Amendment) Act, 1983

Part 3

American University offers

programmes for Law Graduates

Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act,

1983

Correspondence

Book Review

Professional Information

Executive Editor: Mary Buckley

Editorial Board:

Charles R. M. Meredith, Chairman

John F. Buckley Gary Byrne William Earley

Michael V. O'Mahony

Maxwell Sw

^

Advertising:

Liam O hOisin, Telephone 305236

Printing:

Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford developer to furnish a bond from an insurance company . , or other suitable surety to ensure that if the developer

The views expressed in this publication, save where other-wise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the

d o e s not complete the roads and services there is a fund to

completing the services. In a number of

m e e t t h e c o s t s o f

c a s e s . the local authority has ignored the standard requirement contained in contract guarantee bonds that the insurer be notified of any claim under the bond before

Society.

The appearance of an advertisement in this publication the expiry of the period of the bond or within the stated does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for period after the expiry of the bond, with the result that, in the product or service advertised. effect, the bonds have been allowed to lapse without any claim being made. In some cases the authority has then

Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

(Continued on p. 15) 3