212 / 262
scribed as his wife. She crashed the car and the repair
bill came to £400. The British client was injured and
he instructed members to pay the £400 at £10 per week
out of damages which he would recover on a personal
injury claim. As a result members gave an undertaking
to the garage to pay the repair bill out of the damages.
Later the British client wrote to members saying that
the lady was not his wife and consequently he did not
regard himself liable to her debt and he requested the
solicitor to cancel the undertaking to the garage. The
Council felt that the solicitor was bound by his under-
taking. They felt that the question of whether the
revocation of authority was binding is a question of
law. They referred members to the previous statement
of the Council in the
Gazette,
September/October 1972,
page 233, which suggests that solicitors for their own
safety should have their clients sign a form of irre-
vocable retainer attached to the undertaking itself.
Vendor to bear expense of Land Registry map
Members wrote requesting further information on the
Council's recommendation in Vol. 64 of the
Gazette,
September/October 1970, page 92, that a vendor should
furnish an official Land Registry map as part of the
title in Land Registry transfers. Members asked who
should bear the expense of procuring the Land Registry
map. The Council on a report from a committee recom-
mended that the vendor should bear this expense.
Retirement of Secretary
The President stated that this would be the last
meeting to be attended by Mr. Plunkett in his capacity
as Secretary of the Society, an office which he had held
since 1942. He paid tribute to Mr. Plunkett for his
service to the Society in which various members of the
Council joined.
The Secretary replying thanked the Council and
wished every success to his successor Mr. James J. Ivers,
Director General, who was present.
Reform of Legal Education
The President reported on behalf of the deputation
which was received by the Minister for Justice on 27
July 1973 (L/53/2). The Minister had approved in
broad principle of the Society's proposals for the reform
of legal education but had indicated that he was not
disposed to recommend legislation abolishing the Irish
examination.
Circuit Court Rules Committee
It was unanimously resolved to appoint Mr. Thomas
Gannon, solicitor, Mohill, in place of the late Mr.
Francis J. Gannon.
District Court Rules Committee
It was unanimously resolved to reappoint Mr. William
A. Osborne as one of the Society's representatives on
the Committee with effect from 4 December 1973.
Court Dispute:
Minister's Advice to Justices
Every District Justice had discretion to extend or reduce
the time appointed for lodging documents, the Minister
for Justice said yesterday. Mr. Gooney was referring to
statements by some District Justices regarding the "so-
called work-to-rule" by provincial court clerks.
These Justices, the Minister announced, were re-
ported as saying that, because of the "work-to-rule"
they could not deal with documents which had not
been lodged in the court office within the prescribed
time.
"Without in any way wishing to interfere with the
discharge of their judicial functions by these Justices,
the Minister considers it his duty to point out that every
District Justice has discretion to enlarge or abridge the
time appointed for lodging documents" a Government
Information Bureau statement announced.
"It follows that members of the public with business
in the court have the right to demand that documents
be accepted in the court office and that they be placed
before the Justice so that he may be enabled to exercise
the discretion vested in him. That discretion has tradi-
tionally been exercised in favour of the applicant where
this does not adversely affect any other party interested
in the proceedings."
Mediation Offer
The statement added that the Minister had informed
the Council of the Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association,
which had approached him with an offer to mediate in
the dispute, that if there was any way in which their
intervention could bring about a resumption of discus-
sions with the clerks he would welcome it.
The Minister accused the clerks of choosing to resume
their "so-called" work-to-rule to coincide with the
annual licensing session of the court—an action calcu-
lated to inflict the greatest possible inconvenience on
the legal profession and on the public. The Minister's
response to the Bar Association offer was welcomed last
night by the 104-strong Clerks' Association.
But referring to the Minister's accusation that they
had resumed their work-to-rule in September so as to
disrupt the annual licensing session a spokesman de-
clared : "We must again contradict this suggestion.
The District Courts take summer vacation from August
1 and resume on September 1. Obviously if we resumed
our work-to-rule in August the preparatory work for
the session would have been hit."
A strong protest was made at Nenagh Court yesterday
by Mr. Michael O'Mara, a senior member of the Bar
Association, for Tipperary, Laois and Offaly, over the
delay in the efforts to settle the dispute. Mr. O'Mara
said the Minister was himself a solicitor of more than
twenty years standing and had a good knowledge of the
difficulties they were all experiencing. They had a big
list there that day and the cases of people attending
court might not be reached. There had been untold
delays and frustration because of this dispute.
Irish Independent
(5 October 1973)
209