The Gazette 1972

which, in furtherance of an industrial dispute induces

a breach of contract must henceforth be brought before

this Court.

If the Minister is of opinion that a threatened strike

may bring great damage to the economy, or imperil

national security, or risk public disorder, he may con-

sider that a breathing space would be conducive to the

settlement of a dispute and can then apply to the

Court for a cooling-off period. If the Court has suffi-

cient grounds for believing that any of these conditions

exist, it may make an order in effect requiring the

cessation of industrial action, and this order can be

effective for a maximum period of sixty days. If the

Minister thinks that industrial action is seriously injuri-

ous to the livelihood of many workers in the industry

concerned, he can order a ballot, and suggest that

industrial action shall cease meanwhile, but it is for the

Court to decide whether the circumstances warrant it.

Mr. Harvey, having analysed the Act first in sum-

mary form, then takes up the points he mentions, and

devotes in Part I some 130 pages covering chapters

relating to such matters as the Agency Shop, Remedial

matters, Judicial and Advisory Bodies like the Indus-

trial Court and the subordinate Industrial Tribunals.

The Industrial Relations Act 1971 is printed in full

in Part II, covering some 260 pages. Readers are

referred back in respect of each section to the relevant

commentary in Part I, and there are references back

to other sections for various definitions appearing in the

section. Anyone who wishes to try to construe the intri-

cacies of the Act will have his burdens greatly eased by

Mr. Harvey's commentaries and notes. This is undoubt-

edly the volume which contains most information and

Mr. Harvey is to be congratulated on the tremendous

amount of labour he must have expanded in clari-

fying for us what must have been an exceptionally

difficult task.

Mr. Christopher Heath's guide contains an intro-

duction of 80 pages, then the full text without com-

ment of the Industrial Relations Act 1971. Mr. Heath

prints the Code of Industrial Relations Practice in full

which relates to usch matters as responsibilities, employ-

ment policies, communications and consultation, collec-

tive bargaining and shop stewards; Mr. Harvey i§ con-

tent to summarise it. On the other hand, Mr. Harvey

has inserted an invaluable list of official publications

and parliamentary debates. This reviewer does not con-

sider that Mr. Heath has achieved his purpose. The

introductory chapters of his guide are not easy to read

and appear to require some deep previous knowledge

of industrial relations. Mr. Heath does not appear to

have the happy knack of explaining things simply,

though some definitions like "to procure", "to finance",

"to threaten" and "to induce" are carefully distin-

guished.

The aim of Mr. Hepple and of Dr. O'Higgins is to

provide an introduction to the law affecting the indivi-

dual employment relationship. They rightly stress that

the old-fashioned law of master and servant has now

given way to labour law, in which statutory protection

of the rights of individual workers has come to occupy

a central position. The purpose of the book is to give a

systematic and integrated view of common law and

statutory duties. As might be expected from two emin-

ent law lecturers in Cambridge, this purpose has been

admirably achieved.

The wide scope of the volume is shown by the fact

that such problems as co-operation between employer

and employee, the duty of an employer tó take reason-

able care for the safety of his employees, and that of

the employee to serve faithfully and honestly are fully

considered. Abundant case law is given in support of

the various points. We must defer to Dr. O'Higgins,

who is an expert on Irish industrial law, but who has

chosen not to cite Irish cases. Problems of remuneration

going back to the historical Truck Acts, and of parti-

cipation in a strike are dealt with in their customary

masterful way, and the Industrial Relations Act 1971

is only mentioned where necessary. Any Irish practi-

tioner who wishes to get to know the intricacies of the

English Industrial Relations Act 1971 would do well

to read Mr. Hepple's and Dr. O'Higgins's

Introduction

to Individual Employment

before embarking upon Mr.

Harvey's more elaborate and specialised tome. It is

unfortunate that Irish practitioners in labour law have

as yet no reliable text-book, though it is understood

that Mr. McCartney of Queen's University is preparing

one.

The Modern Law of Animals by P. M. North; London,

Butterworth, 1972; 8vo; xxix plus 229 pp.

Professor Glanville Williams published his scholarly

monograph on

Liability for Animals

in 1939 and no

book has been published on this abstruse subject since

then. We had already been indebted to Mr. North, a

Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, for his learned work

Occupier's Liability

in 1971. As might be expected,

the learned author has incorporated all decisions relat-

ing to this subject, not merely from England, but also

from Australia, Canada and New Zealand. With the

extended jurisdiction conferred upon the Circuit Court

by the Courts Act 1971 it is unlikely that many deci-

sions relating to animals in the future will be reported

in Ireland, as a claim for more than £2,500 damages in

such a case would probably be exceptional. Neverthe-

less the subject is of vital importance for rural practi-

tioners, and cases of cattle straying or sheep worrying

by dogs are not uncommon. The law on the subject in

England has been brought up to date by the Ajiimals

Act 1971 which provides

inter alia

that in all circum-

stances in which a dog causes damage by killing or

injuring livestock, the keeper of the dog is normally

liable, and that if livestock belonging to anyone strays

on to land in the ownership or occupation of another,

the owner of the livestock is normally liable. The well-

known common law rule, which excludes the duty

which a person reasonably owes to others to see that

damage is not caused by animals straying on the high-

way, is abolished; henceforth the owner of the straying

animal will be liable. If a dog is worrying livestock, the

owner of the livestock shall no longer be liable for

killing the dog, if he acted for the protection of the

livestock, and gave notice to the police of such killing

within 48 hours. These reforms, which are explained

in detail by Mr. North, will probably exceed the perpe-

tuity period before they are enacted in Ireland but Mr.

North is also admirably concise in explaining the old

law which still applies here. This book can be recom-

mended specially to rural practitioners who have to

grasp legal problems connected with the law relating to

animals.

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