The Gazette 1972

BOOK REVIEWS

Labour and the Law by Kahn Freund (Otto); Hamlyn

Trust Lecture no. 24; London, Stevens, 1972; 8vo;

pp. xii plus 270; Paperback, £ 1.80.

Dr. Kahn Freund is a well known expert on trade

union law; he naturally praises an allegedly orderly

system of labour relations in Britain as an achievement,

and criticises the common law for not balancing collec–

tive forces. He contends that, as Labour Law is the

basis on which most earn their living, every lawyer

should master its principles; he points out that almost

everywhere this law depends essentially on the union–

in othc:r words the power of management is co-ordin–

ated with that of organised labour, yet they have a

divergency of interest. Yet the purpose of Labour Law

is to regulate and restrain management as much as

labour.

is stressed that the purpose of regulatory

legislation is to curb management. The rules of employ–

ment thus become a complex variable amalgam of

legislation and of collective agreements. Collective

bargaining from the management viewpoint will prevent

interruption of work, and from a labour viewpoint

will ensure that jobs will be secure and wages satis–

factory; the dynamic method consists in instituting a

joint industrial council. The common law and indus–

trial law endeavour to propound

ad hoc

solutions;

then there are numerous unwritten trade practices. In

Britain, management is often represented by an em–

ployer's association, which produces a complex struc–

ture of bargaining levels. These are some of the points

which Dr. Kahn Freund stresses in the Hamlyn lec–

tures; all his points are illustrated by useful examples

and deserve careful study by those who will specialise in

industrial relations.

European Community Treatie::, including the (British)

European Communities Act

1972

edited by Sweet

Maxwell's Legal Editorial Staff; London, Sweet

Max–

well, 1972; Paperback, £2.85.

This is a very useful volume giving the English Lan–

guage texts of: (1) The Treaty establishing the

European Coal and Steel Community; (2) The Proto–

cols (a) on the Statute of the Court of Justice of April

Europe (1951). (3) The Convention on the Transi–

tional Provisions (April 1951); (4) The Treaty of

Rome establishing the European Community and

Protocols annexed;

(5)

Implementing Convention on

the Association of Overseas Countries and Territories

with the Community (March 1957); (6) Convention

on Certain Institutions common to the European Com–

munities (March 1957); (7) Protocol on the Statute

of the Court of Justice of the Communities (March

1957);

(8)

Treaty establishing the European Atomic

Energ):,

Committ~e;

(9)

Treaty establishing a single

CouncIl and a smgle Commission; (10) Protocol on

Privileges and.

~mmunities;

(11)

Treaty establishing

Budgetary ProvlSlons; (12) Treaty concerning Accession

of Denmark, Ireland, Norway and United Kingdom

---:-and Act concernipg conditions of Accession; (13)

Fmal Act

Acces.sI.on

of January 1972; (14) British

European COmmUnitIes Act 1972.

Dr. K. Simmonds, director of the British Institute

of International and Comparative Law, as Advisory

Editor to Sweet

Maxwell's Legal Staff, has ensured

that all the texts are accurate, and shown us the vast

extent of' European Community primary law to

derived in one volume. This volume is essential to all

practitioners who will be dealing with all aspects of

commercial law which will be affected by European

Community Law.

Principles of Labour Law by Roger

Rideout;

London, Sweet

Maxwell, 1972; 8vo; pp. xxxi plus

442; Paperback, £3.50.

Dr. Rideout, reader in English Law at University Col–

lege, London, has written a most interesting book on

Labour Law. In part 1 he deals with the contract of

labour, which includes such items as (1) the form of

the contract of services, (2) the batgaining procedure

and machinery, (3) the effect of the collective agree–

ment on the contract of employment, (4) the terms

implied by common law (willingness to serve, obedience,

reasonable care, respect of trade secrets), (5) termina–

tion of the contract by notice, frustration, death, or

rescission for breach of contract, (6) remedies for dis–

missal, (7) discrimination in employment, (8.1 statu–

tory control of wages and .hours of work, and (9)

redundancy. Part 2 deals with Employers liability in–

cluding Vicarious Liability and Industrial Safety Legis–

lation. Part 3 deals with National Insurance relating

to Unemployment, Sickness and Industrial Injuries.

Part 4 deals with Industrial Organisations such as

Trade Unions, Rights of Members, The Common Law

relating to Industrial Disputes including intimidati••n

and conspiracy, unfair industrial practices by workers

and employers, and finally emergency provisions. In the

chapter on "Admission to Membership", such up

date English cases as

Edwards v. Graphical

ociety-–

(1971) Ch 354 and

Faramus v. Film Artistes Associa–

tion-(

1964) AC 925 are fully described and criticised.

glance through the index has failed to elicit any

reference to any Irish case, save a note reference

Ferguson v. O'Gorman-(1937)

IR 670, and to

Hynes

v. Conlon

(1929).

this book is to be of use to

Iri~h

practitioners in the future, it would be necessary for

the learned author or an assistant to set out separately

in .. an appendix, all the important Irish cases since

1922. On account of its primary constitutional impor–

tance, one would have expected an elaborate dis–

cussion of

Educational Co. v. Fitzp'atrick

(No. 2)–

(1963) IR and some account of

E.I. Co. v. Kennedy–

(1968) IR. The learned author in this erudite work

has managed to mention practically all English re–

ported cases on the subject, important and otherwise,

which entailed countless research and trouble.

had been more selective, he would have doubtless ex–

posed himself to the criticism of his colleagues, but it

would seem justifiably so. This is by far the best volume

on labour law that has yet appeared, and can be

recommended without qualification to practitioners

who specialise in this important branch of law.

290