The Gazette 1979

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GAZETTE SEPTEMBER 1979
Annual General Meeting of Dublin
Solicitors' Bar Association
At the annual general meeting of the Association, held
at Blackhall Place on 22 October 1979, the following
officers and council were elected for the year 1979/80:
President, Mrs. Moya Quinlan; Vice-President, Andrew
F. Smyth; Hon. Secretary, Herbert Mulligan; Hon.
Treasurer, Miss Clare Cusack. Council members:
Michael Farrell, Miss Elma Lynch, Stephen Maher,
Vivian Mathews, Charles R. M. Meredith, Rory
O'Donnell, T. Finbar O'Reilly, Colm Price, Lawrence K.
Shields.
"Any Other Business"
By what may now fairly be described as "tradition",
"Any Other Business" is called while the honorary
scrutineers count the votes cast for the prospective
council members for the ensuing year. And, by the same
"tradition", "Any Other Business" has become over the
years a forum for the dissemination of views and ideas
which, perhaps, might not otherwise be heard.
The recent annual general meeting proved no excep-
tion, and the meeting heard an eloquent argument by Mr.
Desmond Moran as to the difficulty of securing a criminal
conviction in the fact of the "beyond a reasonable doubt"
rule, coupled with a plea that an appropriate sub-
committee of the association might consider the matter
further, with a view to making submissions to the Minister
for Justice that the burden of proof be modified.
Mr. Frank O'Donnell argued, equally eloquently,
against taking any step which made it more difficult for
an accused person to obtain justice.
The general feeling of the meeting appeared to be that it
was unlikely that, for whatever reason, the Minister for
Justice would consider any change in the law.
Mr. John F. Buckley, immediate past-president, drew
the attention of the meeting to the proposals published
recently by the Government as to the Civil Legal Aid
Scheme, which is apparently to be based on Advice and
Assistance Centres, located throughout the country, and
serviced by permanent civil service staff. Mr. Buckley is
greatly concerned at the lack of argument voiced by the
profession against the many obvious weaknesses of the
scheme, which he described as "retrograde". Mr. Buckley
pointed out that the Civil Legal Aid Scheme seemed to be
re-introducing the analogous concept of the old local
medical dispensary at a time when the Department of
Health was doing its best to abandon the dispensary
system and to arrange that every citizen could, within
reason, have freedom of choice of doctor. If the Civil
Legal Aid Scheme is established in its present form, the
public will have to rely upon whatever employed staff
serves any particular area, with obvious problems, for
example, in matrimonial cases, when one legal officer
might well find himself having to represent both husband
and wife.
There was considerable discussion as to whether the
profession and the Association would voice publicly its
concern and, despite views to the contrary, the general
feeling seemed to be that the time had come for a state-
ment to be issued. The council of the association will con-
sider the matter further at its next meeting.
Mr. Andrew F. Smyth raised the important and
difficult question of investigations going behind Land
Registry Folios, with particular reference to that perennial
producer of problems — the Family Home Protection
Act 1976. Mr. Rory O'Donnell told the meeting that the
Conveyancing Sub-Committee of the Association had
spent a considerable part of the previous year inves-
tigating the matter, including taking counsel's opinion,
and said that, while there was still some lack of con-
sensus, the better view (at least it was hoped that it was
the better view!) was that it was most unwise to search
behind Folios.
Mr. Desmond Moran introduced yet another radical
topic by suggesting that the level of fines coming within
the broad scope of the Summary Jurisdiction legislation
should be increased, the present minimal level of fine
having long been outpaced by inflation.
The Council of the Association wishes to thank the
Incorporated Law Society for its kindness in making
available to the Association the Council Chamber at
Blackhall Place for the Association's various meetings. In
particular, the Council thanks the Director General of the
Law Society, Mr. James Ivers, for his kindness in
attending many council meetings during the year and in
attending the recent annual general meeting, to which he
contributed an invaluable progress report on the history
to date of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme and the various
representations which had already been made upon it.
Dublin Solicitors' Bar
Association
Joint Symposium with the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (Republic of Ireland Branch)
Under the title "When is a Contract. . .", members of
the Institution of Chartered Surveyors and of the Dublin
Solicitors' Bar Association met in T.C.D. on Thursday,
1st November, 1979, to hear a paper read by John F.
Buckley, solicitor, on the various recent decisions on this
subject.
Mr. Buckley's paper, together with the essence of sub-
sequent questions from the floor and his replies thereto,
will be presented as an article in a forthcoming issue of
the Law Society's Gazette.
The symposium was considered by all concerned to
have been of immense value and the Association is very
grateful to the Institution of Chartered Surveyors for its
prominent part in making the symposium possible.
R. W. RADLEY
., C.Chem., M.R.I.C.
HANDWRITING AND
DOCUMENT EXAMINER
220, Elgar Road, Reading, Berkshire, England.
Telephone (0734) 81977
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