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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1992
readers who have used several WP
systems is how EDI deals with cases
where the document file which was
sent was created on, say, Word
Perfect, but the receiving system uses
Wang. In that case, the Word Perfect
document file will not be understood
by the Wang system, and cannot be
printed out or amended. There are
two possible solutions. The first is
for the sender to convert the
document file, before sending it, into
a format called
ASCII
which is
'understood' by virtually all word
processing systems as a sort of
lingua franca. This has limitations
however, because ASCII does not
cover
attributes
such as underlined
or italicised or bold text, which can
help reading a document. The
second solution is to use
conversion
software.
This permits the computer
to change a document file from one
word processing format - such as
Word Perfect or Display Write - to
another such as Wang or DecWrite.
The conversion software will preserve
the attributes and type faces of the
original document file, and if the
receiving system's printer is similar
to the sending computer's, the
solicitor on the receiving end can
have a print of the document
identical to that of his or her
colleague who sent it. Amendments
such as insertions or deletions can
be highlighted so that when the
amended document file is returned a
precise record of the changes is
apparent on the face of the working
draft as soon as it is printed out.
So what does it cost? For
convenience, we will assume that a
separate PC will be used for EDI
work, although many offices will be
able to use existing PCs or spare
ports on multi-user systems such as
Wang VS or the many UNIX
systems. A suitable PC can be
bought for between £1,200 and
£3,000, depending on quality and
sophistication. Communications
software has become increasingly
standardised, particularly in the PC
market, and packages that have all
the standard features can be bought
for between £50 and £200. The
selection is not as wide for systems
such as Wang or UNIX, and users
of some systems may have to ask
their dealer for a quotation.
Modems for use over telephone lines
have dropped dramatically in price
since the mid-1980s, and quite
sophisticated machines which can
transmit at a rate equivalent to over
1,000 characters per second can be
had for less than £350. Conversion
software for IBM-compatible PCs,
which can convert to and from most
of the commonly used word
processing formats, costs between
approximately £300 to £500.
EDI is not perfect. As was the case
when faxes were first introduced, it
can be difficult to justify the expense
of adding to one's office systems
when the existing arrangements work
reasonably well. Further, it will not
prove its worth until a substantial
part of the profession or one's
clients or contacts use EDI also.
Moreover, there is the question of
security. Great care must be taken
when giving dial-up access to one's
computer system to ensure that
malicious or simply curious 'hackers'
are not allowed access to
confidential information, and to
prevent innocent or deliberate
spreading of computer viruses. But it
is worth noting that an EDI system
known at LIX has gained over 100
users in the UK, including barristers
chambers, major London solicitors,
and the Official Referee's Court
which deals with large construction
cases. LIX enables its users to
exchange documents such as drafts,
pleadings, diagrams and so forth
without the need to send hard copy
by post. The fact that the UK courts
" . . . it is wo r th no t i ng that an
E D I system. . . has gained over
100 users in the U K . .
are prepared to accept documents by
EDI must surely be indicative of a
trend, and your Technology
Committee will report to you on
developments as they arise. In
particular, it is hoped to invite LIX
to demonstrate their product to Irish
solicitors, and this should prove a
most interesting illustration of the
uses to which EDI might be put.
•
The Ob l i g a t i on to Gi ve
Reasons for Administrative
Decisions
(Cont'd from page 231)
term phenomenon. Indeed, in the
long term, reason-giving may have
the contrary effect; those who
previously had no way of discovering
why an unfavourable administrative
decision had been made, other than
by dourt challenge, may now see
quite quickly that the decision is
solid and legally unassailable. In any
case, it is submitted that, as the
source of all judicial and executive
power in the State, "the People"
who are also the users of
administration, are entitled to know
why civil servants, statutory tribunals
and Ministers decide as they do
about them.
References
42. see the statutory provisions recited above.
43.
supra fn.
28.
44. [1992] ILRM 237, 256.
45. ibid at 266 per Finlay C.J.
46. [1991] ILRM 750 at p. 757.
47. [1964] 2 QB 467 at p. 478.
48. [1983] QB 790 at 794.
49. [1991] 1 WLR 153 at p. 167.
50. [1989] IR 149 at p. 159.
51. [1989] ILRM 416 at p. 428.
52.
op.cit. supra,
fn. 19.
53. [1974] I.C.R. 120. This view is
characterised by Richardson,
op.cit.
at fn.
26 as the "error approach".
54.
supra
at fn. 48, once again at p. 794; see
also
Mountview Court Properties Ltd.
-v-
Devlin
(1970) 21 P. & C.R. 689 and
Crake
-v-
Supplementary Benefits Commission
[1982] 1 All ER 498. This is characterised
by Richardson as the "no error
approach".
55. [1991] 2 IR 93 at 103 per McCarthy J and
104 per O'Flaherty J.
56. [1990] 2 IR 66.
57. See
O'Keefe
per Finlay C.J. at pps. 17 -
19 of his judgement.
58. see e.g.
S.E.C.
-v-
Chenery Corporation
(1943) 318 U.S. 80.
59.
International Fishing Vessels Ltd
-v-
Minister for the Marine
(No. 2) [1991] 2
IR 93 at 103 per McCarthy J.
•
English Agents:
Agency work
undertaken for Irish solicitors in
both litigation and non-
contentious matters - including
legal aid. Fearon & Co.,
Solicitors, 12 The Broadway,
Woking, Surrey GU21 5AU.
Tel: 03-0483-726272.
Fax: 03-0483-725807.
240