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GAZETTE
B O O K
R E V I E W S
JULY 1994
The Limitation of Actions
Second edition, by James C Brady
and Tony Kerr, published by the
Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland, 1994, 257pp, Hardback,
£32:50 + £2.40 p+p.
Any book on the Statute of
Limitations will not ordinarily qualify
for bedside reading as the subject
matter is both technical and specific
rather than of general application. The
first edition of this work was
published in 1984 and this second
edition has followed in January, 1994.
The new edition contains a
substantially enlarged text due to the
inclusion of an abundance of case law
handed down over the last decade,
including quite detailed references to
UK and international precedent, which
illustrate the comprehensiveness with
which the authors have conducted
their research. Included is relevant
coverage of the Rules of the Superior
Courts 1986 together with limitation
periods arising from legislation
introduced since 1984. The authors
have also expanded their commentary
generally in some areas which is
very useful for the provision of a
complete overview on the subject in
question.
The first chapter dealing with history
and general principles has been
considerably expanded and introduces
a new heading entitled "Want of
Prosecution" which has given rise to a
number of reported applications to the
court in recent years. This chapter
contains a large amount of useful and
specific information on a wide variety
of points of law and should be read by
practitioners purely for general
knowledge if nothing else. Chapter
two dealing with contract identifies
the changes in the law introduced by
the Sale of Goods and Supply of
Services Act, 1980 and its inter
relationship with the Statute of
Limitations (Amendment) Act, 1991
("The 1991 Act") and expresses
views on current Irish authoritative
texts.
Chapter 3 provides a full analysis of
the 1991 Act and its effect on
limitation periods in respect of
personal injury claims in particular. It
comments in detail on the problems
which pre-dated the introduction of
the 1991 Act, the case law which
prompted it and the effect of the Act.
This chapter is necessarily
significantly larger than that in the
first edition. The section dealing with
economic loss has also been expanded
which is all to the good in the light of
the increasing number of these type of
actions. Chapter 4 dealing with
actions for the recovery of land has
also been expanded significantly in
relation to the subject of adverse
possession and the effect of the
running of time in relation to such
actions. Chapters 5 and 6 include an
expanded analysis of recent case law
and there is a particularly good
section concerning the effect of fraud
on the Statute. Chapter 7 deals with
various miscellaneous matters and
refers to the most recent legislation in
certain areas which assures the reader
that the authors have thoroughly
researched this work.
This work is an essential guide for all
practitioners who wish either to
engage in or, alternatively, to avoid
litigation. One matter which I would
like the authors to consider for their
next edition is expanding the contents
index at the front of the book as the
seven chapter headings in fact
encompass an enormous amount of
detailed material and it would assist
the reader in locating the relevant text
to have details in the contents index
itself about what is contained in each
individual chapter.
Michael Tyrrell
Butterworth (Ireland)
Companies Acts 1963 - 1990
Edited by Lyndon MacCann,
Butterworth (Ireland) Limited, Dublin,
1993,1,256 pp, £60.00 paperback.
Mr. Justice Ronan Keane,
one of the
most eminent judges of our time, in
his foreword to Mr. MacCann's text
states that when he joined the Law
Library nearly forty years ago, the
acknowledged expert on company law
was an elderly senior counsel named
Henry Moloney.
The Judge recounts
that, according to legend, the senior
counsel was in the habit of referring to
the "new Act" by which he meant the
1908 Act. The Judge states that this
was understandable since in Mr.
Moloney's young days, he had been a
lecturer in company law in one of the
Royal University colleges "at a time
when that slim and graceful example
of Edwardian legislation was merely a
twinkle in the eye of the young
Winston Churchill
." The Judge
observes - and we all echo the phrase
- "How times have changed."
The Judge notes that we now have
Acts "bursting with endless complex
sections and stuffed with enormous
schedules, statutory instruments,
European Community Directives and
a daunting array of judicial decisions,
many unreported and, for some at
least, inaccessible". Many readers
who encounter intellectual difficulties
with company law should take heart at
the Judge's words.
The foreword to Mr. MacCann's
book, which emphasises the book's
importance, is written in such a style
which makes it eligible for inclusion
in any compendium of the wit and
wisdom associated with the law of
Ireland. Mr. Justice Keane notes that
Alexis FitzGerald,
Solicitor, liked to
recall that the 1908 Act and the 1963
Act both became law on April 1.
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