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BOOK REVIEWS
Salmond (Sir John)—The Law of Torts.
16th edition.
Ed. by R. F. V. Heuston. Royal 8vo.; pp. xcii, G47;
London, Sweet & Maxwell, 1973; paperback £3.85.
Since its first edition in 1907, Sir John Salmond's
learned treatise on the law of torts has undergone no
less than sixteen editions, and Professor Heuston has
successfully edited all editions since the 13th in 1963
while the 13th edition contained 825 pages of text, and
even the 15th edition (1969) contained 840 pages, the
pagination has now been reduced by nearly 200 pages,
a remarkable achievement. Professor Heuston differs
from this reviewer in regarding as hallowed Sir John's
original text, and has admitted that, in relation to
certain matters, he has not altered it. In this reviewer's
opinion, it would have been better if Professor Heuston,
with his vast experience o fwriting legal literature, had
frankly published a new textbook on Torts under his
own name. All the lucid features of Professor Heuston's
previous editorship, are here with the addition of up
to date English—and, alas, too few Irish—cases. This
reviewer has used Salmond in giving tuition in tort,
and is broadly surprised how relatively little change
the text has undergone on the whole.
It surprises me, in relation to licences, that so much
space should be devoted to hoary cases like
Wood v.
Leadbitter
and
Hurst v. Picture Theatres
: a very few
lines would have been ample. There is however little
doubt that the chapters on defamation and on negli-
gence are fascinating to read, as the lucid learning of
the illustrous editor are so evident. A few incidental
references, have been made to the Irish Civil Liability
Act 1961, but, in the view of this reviewer, its out-
standing features should have been fully noted. How-
ever the practitioner who has studied and remembers
the principles of tort displayed expertly in this volume
by Professor Heuston, will have reason to thank the
learned editor for greatly facilitating his task.
Encyclopaedia of European Law.
Volume A—United
Kingdom Sources. General Editor : K. R. Simmonds.
8vo; looseleaf. (The pagination is different according
to the parts used.) London, Sweet & Maxwell; New
York, Matthew Bender, 1973; looseleaf, £17.50.
It was a happy idea of Messrs. Sweet & Maxwell and
of Messrs. Bender to think of publishing a full Encyclo-
paedia of European Law; it is proposed to issue 3
volumes—Volume A—United Kingdom Sources : Vol-
ume B—European Community Treaties and Volume
C—Community Secondary Legislation : Volume A has
now appeared. Part A1 is a most Annotated Edition
of the English European Communities Act 1972, which
is somewhat more extensive than the corresponding
Irish Act. Part A2 consists of 2 5 other annotated
British Acts which directly or indirectly affect Euro-
pean Communities Law. Part A3 consists of 79 Anno-
tated British Rules and Orders relating to Community
Law. Part A4 lists in full with annotations the Com-
mand Papers, Parliamentary Reports and circulars
issued in Britain relating to the European Community.
The fact that Dr. K. R. Simmonds, Director of the
British Institute of International Law, is the General
Editor of this vast Encyclopaedia, will ensure that it
is accurate and useful. Furthermore, as the volume has
the advantage of being loose-leaf, it will be easy to
insert additional loose-leaf material as and when it is
published, subject lo an annual supplementary fee. As
broadly speaking, the Irish legislation and relevant
statutory instruments will be similar in context to the
material published in this volume, it should prove most
useful to any Irish practitioner who will have to under-
take much work in connection with European Com-
munity Law, which, as previously stated, is as much
Irish Law as if it had been passed by the Oireachtas.
Sanctuary (Gerald)—Before You See a Solicitor.
8vo.;
pp. v, 117; It's your law sense. Published by the Law
Society and Oyez, London, 1973; 60p.
The authority of this book is unquestioned, as Mr.
Sanctuary is the Chairman of the Professional and
Public Relations Committee of the English Law Society.
The main purpose of the book is to explain the work
of the Solicitor to the layman, and his role in society.
He rightly stresses that in many respects, such as the
question of deserted wives, the law is unsatisfactory.
In England they have the advantage not only of Free
Legal Advice Centres, but also of Citizens' Advice
Bureaux, to help the ignorant litigant; Zander, Readers
Digest Family Guide to the law (1971) is also strongly
recommended. It is stressed that a solicitor is at all
times deemed to be a trained lawyer and that it is
essentially a friendly profession. In England, the happy
position exists whereby the majority of solicitors now in
private practice are working as members of a firm, but
of course partnerships carry substantial negligence in-
surance, and it i swise to organise the offices into
specialised departments. The English Solicitors' Re-
muneration Order 1972 sets out the guidelines which a
solicitor must observe in charging a scale fee in con-
veyancing matters. It is stressed that the majority of
solicitors use the time-costing system, and the impor-
tance of preliminary inquiries before signing a contract
is also emphasised. There are also useful chapters on
Property, Family Law and Legal Aid. This is an essen-
tial book for the layman who wants to understand the
solicitor's profession.
Community Law
—A selection of publications on the
Law of the European Economic Community and the
relevant Law of the original member states—published
by the British and Irish Association of Law Libra-
rians, London. 4vo., pp. v, 64; obtainable from Mr.
Breem, Librarian, Inner Temple, London E.C.4; £2.25.
Up to the publication mainly by Miss Charlotte
Lutyens and Miss Muriel Anderson, of this most useful
bibliography, it was very difficult to obtain in English
any accurate bibliographical data about legislation, law
reports and textbooks relating not only to the European
Economic Community, but also relating to the Con-
tinental Member States, other than Denmark—namely
Belgium, France, Federal Germany, Italy, Luxembourg
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