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GAZETTE
B O O K
R E V I E W S
JUNE 1996
Religion, Morality and
Policy
Religion,
Morality
and Policy
is a
c o l l e c t i on of e s s a ys from a c o n f e r e n ce
held in S e p t emb er 1994, by the
Trinity Co l l e ge S c h o o ls of Law and of
Biblical and Th e o l o g i c al Studies. The
Co n f e r e n ce attempted to identify the
legitimate role, if any, for religion in
Irish S o c i e t y.
In the first e s s a y,
Michael
Perry
of
North Western University, U . S . A .,
d i s c u s s es the protection of religion in
international law. He reminds us that
unlike the right to f r e e d om of
religious belief, the right to f r e e d om
o f religious practice is not absolute.
He also states, in relation to j ud g e s,
that under certain very limited
conditions, a j u d ge may rely on a
personal belief in d e c i d i ng a case.
In another e s s ay Moral Th e o l o g i an -
Vivian Boland
quo t es
Vaclav
Havel,
President of the C z e ch Republic.
Havel has said that the political task
facing the world requires the t wo
fundamental values of d emo c r a c y:
Re s p e ct for the unique b e i ng with his
or her liberties and inalienable rights
and the principle that all p ower
derives from the people. Ha v el states
that the right to liberty can only be
realised if the human being
"does not
forget the one who endowed
him with
it" -
a remark s a ys Bo l a nd, wh i ch
s e ems to e n v i s a ge that God must be
kept constantly in mind if right living
is to be p o s s i b le for human beings.
The mo st interesting e s s ay for me,
was by the Th e o l o g i a n,
Fr.
Gabriel
Daly.
He s a ys that in a pluralised
s o c i e t y, religion is privatised and as
such, it c o m e s to be seen as just
another pursuit - a lmo st a h o bby - in
a world wh i ch o f f e rs an e x t e n s i ve
c h o i ce of such pursuits and hobbies.
In the modern world, he says, it is
often noticeable h ow p e o p le abandon
a totally uncritical religious faith and
replace it with a totally uncritical
unbelief. He is d e s pond e nt that in the
Republic, unlike the North, w e still do
not have religion as an a c a d emic
subject in the Le a v i ng Certificate.
He states, critically, that Churches
s ome t i mes c o n v ey the impression that
they are wired for transmission only
and not for reception. Finally, he
c o n c l ud e s, that it is e a sy for the
d e v e l o p ed world to call for the saving
of the great life t e em i ng forests of the
tropics, without e x p r e s s i ng readiness
to reimburse poor nations wh i ch c o-
operate in the preservation of these
forests and in other e c o l o g i c a l ly
responsible projects.
This book contains ma ny thought
p r o v o k i ng and c h a l l e n g i ng v i e ws
wh i ch are essential reading for a n y o ne
in a position to i n f l u e n ce the future of
our society.
John
Costello
Company Structures
B y D a v i d W a i n m a n ; S w e e t &
Ma x w e l l, 1 9 9 5; 4 3 3 p p ; h a r d b a c k,
£60.00.
A s the author states in the
introductory chapter "This is a b o ok
about c omp a n i es and its primary f o c us
is on the w a y s in wh i ch c omp a n i es are
organised to d o business." The author
distinguishes c omp a n i es w h o se
o b j e c t i v es are profit and growth and
those c omp a n i es w h o se o b j e c t i v es are
not for profit. The book is d e s i g n ed to
address the former and whilst the
legislation is the s ame for both types
of objectives, the legislation has to be
l o ok ed at in an entirely different
perspective wh en dealing with the t wo
very different types of organisation.
Th is b o ok brings together the law, tax
and accounting for c omp a n i es and
groups of c omp a n i e s. The author
addresses the three subjects in a
considerable amount of detail and
illumination and deals with the types
of situation that arise in the business
framework and explains the topics
i n v o l v ed in each of the chapters in
c o n c i se sub-chapters, thus making for
e a se of reference and understanding. It
is a useful text in understanding the
main issues that arise in such
circumstances and all are dealt with in
o ne publication. How e v e r, from the
Irish practitioners point of v i ew,
readers should be careful in their
reading, as the references are to the
United K i n g d om legislation
throughout e.g. Financial S e r v i c es Act
1986 and the Comp a n i es Act 1 9 90
d o es not provide in Part XI for the
purchase of shares by a c omp a ny out
of capital and restricts the process to
purchases only out of distributable
profits. Ha v i ng said this, the
publication is a useful and very
readable guide to understanding the
process of dealing with c omp a n i es
wh i ch are profitable and g r ow i n g,
particularly if there should be an
English c omp a ny perspective and
i n v o l v eme n t.
Michael
Moran
Concise Guide to European
Patents: Law & Practice
b y G e r a ld P a t e r s o n. P u b l i s h ed b y
S w e e t & Ma x w e l l, 1 9 9 5; p a p e r b a c k;
2 0 2 p p ; S t g £ 3 2 . 0 0.
Gerald Paterson
is Chairman of a
Technical Board of Appeal at the
European Patent o f f i ce in Munich.
Be f o re his appointment he had an
e x t e n s i ve practice at the UK Bar
specialising in patent matters and he
has also appeared before the Irish High
Court. He is the author of the very
mu ch more c omp r e h e n s i ve book
entitled The European Patent Sy s t em.
A s its title suggests the book is a
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