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GAZETTE
B O OK
R E V I E W S
OCTOBER 1996
The Canon Law, Letter &
Spirit: A Practical Guide to
the Code of Canon Law
The Canon Law Society of Great
Britain and Ireland, Dublin, Veritas
Publications, xxv+1060pp, 1995,
£65, hardback.
Wh at is the purpose of law?
Philosophers have debated this question
over the centuries. "Wi t h o ut law,
civilisation dies." This is a Jewish folk-
saying and while it d o es not a n swer the
question of the purpose of law, it
nevertheless c o n v e ys the importance of
law in the context of civilisation. Cicero
in his treatise
De Legibus
(On the Laws),
influenced by Aristotelian and Stoic
doctrine, wrote in the year 52 BC that
"law is the highest reason, implanted in
nature, which c o mm a n ds wh at ought to
be done, and forbids the opposite."
E d m u n d B u r ke ( 1 7 2 9 - 1 7 9 7) w r o te in
his
Tracts on the Popery Laws
that
l aws, like h o u s e s, lean on o n e a n o t h e r.
A c c o r d i n g l y, it is a p p r o p r i a te to r e f er
civil l a w y e rs to a n o t h er c o d e of l aw.
Wh a t is t he C o d e of C a n o n L a w ? T h e
r e v i s ed C o d e of C a n o n L a w ,
p r o m u l g a t ed in 1983, is a f u n d a m e n t al
l e g i s l a t i ve d o c u m e nt of t he " L a t in
C h u r c h ", w h i ch is o n e of t he m a n y
a u t o n o m o us c h u r c h es c o m p e t e nt to
l e g i s l a te f or their o w n s u b j e c t s. F or
t he first t i me in h i s t o r y, t he 1983 c o d e
h a s b e en t r a n s l a t ed into t he v e r n a c u l ar
- s u b j e ct to t he c l e ar u n d e r s t a n d i ng
that t he o n ly o f f i c i al a nd b i n d i ng
v e r s i on of t he c o d e is t he L a t in text.
T h e C a n o n L a w S o c i e ty of G r e at
B r i t a in a nd I r e l a nd ( r e s p o n s i b le f o r
t he p u b l i c a t i on of this c o mm e n t a r y)
p r o m o t es t he s t u dy of c a n on law in
b o th its t h e o r e t i c al a s p e c ts a nd its
p r a c t i c al a p p l i c a t i o n s. T h e c h a i r m an
of t he e d i t o r i al b o a rd of this g u i de to
t he C o d e of C a n o n L aw is Rt. R e v.
Mg r . G e r a rd S h e e h y, J C D , Ba r r i s t e r-
a t - L a w, J u d ge of the Du b l in R e g i o n al
Ma r r i a ge T r i b u n al a nd of t he Du b l in
Me t r o p o l i t an T r i b u n a l, a nd C o n s u l t or
to t he R o m a n P o n t i f i c al C o u n c il f or
t he I n t e r p r e t a t i on of t he L a w s of t he
C h u r c h. O t h er m e m b e rs of the
editorial b o a rd are Rt. R e v. Mg r.
R a l ph B r o wn (We s t m i n s t e r ), R e v.
D o n al Ke l l y, J CD ( O s s o r y ), R e v.
A i d an Mc G r a t h, O F M , J C D a nd
R e v. F r a n c is C. Mo r r i s e y, OM I ,
J C D ( O t t a w a ).
M a n y a s p e c ts of the C o d e will be
f am i l i ar to civil l a wy e r s. T h e c o n c e pt
of d u e p r o c e ss is o n e of the c a r d i n al
p r i n c i p l es to be o b s e r v ed by
c o m p e t e nt t r i b u n a ls that i m p l e m e nt
t he C a n o n L a w. C a n o n 1446 u r g es
that all p e r s o n s, w i th d u e r e g a rd to
j u s t i c e, s h o u ld e n s u re that d i s p u t es
u n d er the c o de are, as f ar as p o s s i b l e,
a v o i d ed a nd a re settled p r omp t ly a nd
w i t h o ut r a n c o u r.
In relation to j u d g e s of c o m p e t e nt
c h u r ch t r i b u n a l s, the c o d e s p e c i f i es
that t h ey a re not to u n d e r t a ke the
h e a r i ng of a c a se in w h i ch a ny
p e r s o n al interest m a y be i n v o l v ed by
r e a s on of c o n s a n g u i n i ty or a f f i n i ty in
a ny d e g r ee in t he d i r e ct line a nd u p to
t he f o u r th d e g r ee ( f o u r th c o u s i n) of
the c o l l a t e r al line, or by r e a s on of
g u a r d i a n s h ip or t u t e l a g e, or of c l o se
a c q u a i n t a n c e s h ip or m a r k ed hostility,
or p o s s i b le f i n a n c i al p r o f it or loss.
T h i s is the ideal j u d g e.
T h e w r i t er of this n o te h as n o
i n v o l v e m e nt in t he a p p l i c a t i on of
C a n o n L a w ; t he p u r p o se of this n o te is
me r e ly to d r aw t he a t t e n t i on of
i n t e r e s t ed l a wy e rs to a s u p e r b,
s c h o l a r ly a nd r e a d a b le c o mm e n t a r y,
p a r t i c u l a r ly f or t h o se w h o w i sh to
k n ow w h at C a n o n L a w really m e a n s.
Dr. Eamonn
G. Hall
Guide to
Finance
Act
published
T h e R e v e n ue C omm i s s i o n e rs h a ve
published g u i d a n ce notes on the 1996
Finance Act,
giving a section by section
explanation of the n ew legislation and
any ame n dme n ts ma de to existing law.
T h e T ax Administration Liaison
Comm i t t e e, wh i ch includes
representatives f r om the L aw Society,
has w e l c omed the publication of the
notes, wh i ch we re previously only
available to inspectors of taxes. Co p i es
of the
Notes for Guidance
on the
Finance Act, 1996,
are available f r om
the Go v e r nme nt Publications Sales
Office, Mo l e s wo r th Street, Dublin 2,
price £20.
•
Competition in
Ireland
Competition
law and policy in Ireland
(Oak T r ee Press) e x am i n es the basic
e c o n om ic principles of competition
policy and r e v i ews both Irish case law
and the decisions of the Comp e t i t i on
Authority. T h e authors, Patrick Ma s s ey
and Paula O ' H a r e, also look at the
issues surrounding the introduction of
c omp e t i t i on into semi-State industries.
T h e b o ok costs £ 45 (hardback) or
£ 2 4 . 95 (paperback).
Years of drink
A n ew r e f e r e n ce b o ok on I r e l a n d 's
licensing laws w as launched by Justice
Minister No ra Ow e n earlier this mo n t h.
T h e L i c e n s i ng Acts 1833-1995 w as
written by barrister Co n s t a n ce Ca s s i dy
and a i ms to g u i de practitioners 'through
the ma ze of legislation g o v e r n i ng the
sale and c o n s ump t i on of intoxicating
liquor in Ireland'. T h e b o ok costs £ 1 50
and is published by ' R o u nd Hall Swe et
& Ma xwe l l.
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