The Gazette 1994

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GAZETTE P R A C T I C N O T E S MW H APRIL 1994
Family Law and Legal Aid
Committee
The Family Law and Legal Aid
Committee would be interested in
hearing from solicitors who have
queries, information or details of
recent cases which would be of
interest to .practitioners in this area.
Correspondence should be addressed
to the Secretary of the Committee,
Linda Kirwan, Solicitor, Law Society,
Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.
Family Law and Legal Aid Committee
Possession Prior to Closing
As a matter of convenience to both
parties a vendor may agree with a
purchaser to allow the purchaser into
possession prior to the closing date on
condition that the purchaser signs a
caretaker's agreement and places the
balance of the purchase money in a
joint deposit account in the names of
the vendor's and purchaser's
solicitors. This is most common
where a closing document is not
immediately available.
The solicitors for both vendor and
purchaser should, before possession is
taken, be satisfied that the outstanding
document will ultimately become
available.
It is very unwise to allow a purchaser
into possession in circumstances
where there is an outstanding item
which may not become available. In
such circumstances both vendor and
purchaser should be advised clearly as
to the dangers.
Both parties should also be advised of
the insurance risk implications.
Conveyancing Committee
New Licence Duty For Pubs
Should it be Apportioned?
The Conveyancing Committee
received queries from time to time as
to whether in particular circumstances
it was appropriate that the licence
duty chargeable for a public licence
should be apportioned as an outgoing.
In each case the opinion of the
Committee was that it should not. In
these cases the Committee's view was
strongly influenced by the fact that
sales were of a pub business as a
going concern.
Up to now licence duty was not
substantial enough to generate too
much contention but, currently, the
duty ranges from £200 to £3,000
depending on the turnover.
The Committee has decided as a
matter of principle that it is not
appropriate that licence duty be
apportioned and the next edition of the
contract will have a clause in the
general conditions providing
accordingly.
In the meantime, the Committee
suggests that purchasers might like to
add a special condition to a contract
for the purchase of a pub making it
clear beyond all doubt that the licence
duty will not be apportioned. This
might save time and trouble at a later
stage.
Conveyancing Committee
Capital Acquisitions Tax -
Computer Assisted Learning
The Law School has developed a
Computer Assisted Learning course to
teach the basic principles of Capital
Acquisitions Tax. It is now being used
in the Law School by apprentices
taking the Professional Course. The
disc and workbook are now available
to solicitors.
To run the programme, you need an
IBM compatible computer with a 3/2"
disc drive and a mouse.
The programme is correct as at June
1993 and will be revised as soon as
the Finance Act, 1994 is passed to
take account of the changes
introduced by that Act.
If you would like a copy of the course
disc and workbook, write to the Law
School enclosing £10.00 to cover
expenses. •
I SEL 2 1 s t
A n n i v e r s a ry
C o n f e r e n ce
The Irish Society for European Law is
the longest-established society in
Ireland for the study of all aspects of
European law. It holds meetings
regularly and publishes The Irish
Journal of European Law.
The Society was founded in 1973.
This year, to mark its 21st
anniversary, the Society will be
holding a one-day conference at the
Hotel Conrad Hilton in Dublin on 23
April, 1994, to discuss the theme
"Ireland and European Union Law:
The First Twenty One-Years". The
key-note paper will be delivered by
Judge John Murray of the European
Court of Justice. Other speakers will
include Judge Brian Walsh, Professor
Bryan McMahon and Finbarr Murphy.
The morning session will be chaired
by Judge Thomas F. O'Higgins.
Further details may be had from either
Vincent Power (Chairman of the Irish
Society) at A & L Goodbody, Dublin
(01 -6613311) or Jean Fitzpatrick,
Telecom Eireann, Solicitor's Office
(01 -6714444, ext 5929). •
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