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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1979
BOOK REVIEWS
The Case for Divorce in the Irish Republic by William
Duncan. Published by the Irish Council for Civil
Liberties, Liberty Hall, Dublin, 1979. 80 pp., £1.50
( + 20p p+p).
The Case for Divorce in the irish Republic,
written by
William Duncan and commissioned by the Irish Council
for Civil Liberties, "the I.C.C.L." was introduced
and launched as a publication on Monday, 12 November
1979. The book, as the Chairman of the Council quite
rightly says in his Foreword, is "the first major publica-
tion on this vital subject, offering a thorough and far-
ranging examination of the problem." The I.C.C.L. hopes
that the Report will provide the impetus for serious public
discussion, and that on the basis of such in-
formed debate, the Oireachtas and the Irish people will
informed debate, the oireachtas and the irish people will
initiate the changes necessary — constitutional amend-
ment by referendum and legislation for divorce — to bring
what the I.C.C.L. say "relief and hope to hundreds of
families."
The study assesses the scale of marital breakdown in
the Republic. The extent of the problem is difficult to
under-estimate: "It is reasonable to assume, on the basis
of the latest information, that there are at present in the
Republic between five and eight thousand deserted wives,
with a minimum annual increase of about 500." (p. 12).
Divorce and annulment are compared as techniques for
dealing with broken marriages. The one is a clear-cut and
honest remedy, the other, even given reforms that might
be enacted at the suggestion of the Law Reform Com-
mission, is quite limited in its scope and does not purport
to accommodate marital breakdown. The arguments for
divorce are very well examined, on the basis of individual
liberty, changing social attitudes and practices in relation
to marriage, the need to provide for minorities, equality of
treatment under the law, and improving the quality of
family life.
Their treatment and the examination of a number of
arguments against divorce is also admirable. For the
whole study, the author and the I.C.C.L. are to be con-
gratulated. William Duncan's contribution to Irish
Family Law and its reform is quite enormous. He has been
actively involved in a number of organisatios and
currently is President of Children First and a legal advisor
to Cherish. He is a lecturer in Family Law at Trinity
College, Dublin and has published articles on many aspects
of the subject. The I.C.C.L. has done its fair share also in
the field of Family Law in its short life-span to date. It has
among its reports "Children's Rights under the Constitu-
tion."
Since
The Case for Divorce in the Irish Republic
has
started a debate and discussion on this most important
issue, it will be interesting to see how other bodies and
significantly the Government react. The Law Society had,
a motion for debate before the Annual Conference in
Galway on 3-6 May 1979 "That Civil Divorce should be
available in Ireland." Both papers delivered were subse-
quently published in the
Gazette;
Professor Mary
McAleese's address for the motion was published in the
June edition and Sean P. Bedford's, against the motion,
was in the July/August edition. The Roman Catholic
Church's position as most recently expressed by
Pope John Paul at Limerick is still to speak of divorce as
a threat to family life. When Mr. Duncan was questioned
on the appropriateness in time of the publication of this
report — shortly after the Papal visit — his reply was short
and sweet: "It is never inopportune to speak out and
make a case when the rights of persons are in issue."
The Law Reform Commission is at the request of the
government currently undertaking a study of the reform
of the law of nullity. The I.C.C.L.'s study on divorce will
constitute it's submission to that body. For Church and
State alike, one of the conclusions drawn by Mr. Duncan
is perhaps apt. "An effective response to the problem of
family breakdown needs to be positive. The ban on
divorce is negative. It does not prevent the problem; it
does not cure it; it confuses its causes; it helps to conceal
its extent and worst of all it imposes unnecessary suffering
by limiting the freedom of a minority of unsuccessfully
married people."
I would strongly recommend this Report as necessary
reading for any and every concerned citizen, whether
lawyer or non-lawyer, and whether or not his or her initial
viewpoint is for or against divorce.
Joseph B. Man nix.
A GUIDE TO ROAD TRAFFIC OFFENCES by
James V. Woods. Published privately by the Author,
1979, xxxii, 491 p. Available from 35 Hollywood
Park, Naas, Co. Kildare, at £11.75 including postage.
Mr. Woods's current book on the Road Traffic Acts,
their regulations and their joint treatment by the Courts
both in Ireland and overseas comes with impressive
credentials from a man so expertly versed in District
Court practice. Written essentially as an intended aid to
those practitioners who find themselves representing a
client in the not so familiar environment of the District
Court, the Guide should prove as sustaining in the hour of
need as a nip from a hip flask on a February afternoon at
Lansdowne Road.
No doubt encouraged by his success in publishing his
notes to the Intoxicating Liquor Acts and the two
volumes of his District Court Guide in recent years, the
author has rightly anticipated the need of the younger
practitioner for a courtroom aid, written in simplified
form, upon which the latter can readily rely.
The format of the Guide is based upon the Road
Traffic Acts. Whilst there has been little pretence at
literary style, a solid reference of intermingled statutory
law and regulations, case law, Court rule and procedure
are contained therein.
With his great depth of District Court experience, Mr.
Woods has set out in detailed manner to explain the
apprehension of the wrongdoer, his prosecution, its
hearing, the Court's decision and penalty together with all
relevant variations on the theme. For this alone the book
should be recommended reading for law students of either
discipline.
Matters also dealt with in its 500 pages are the
Petroleum Acts, the Road Transport Acts, PSV Regula-
tions and the Temporary Importation of Motor Vehicles.
A useful potential of reference, which loses some of its
impact due to the absence of a reference date, is the table
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