The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

FEBRUARY

1989

lead to a process of industrial con-

solidation and regrouping across

national boundaries requiring a

vigilant Community control over

mergers, acquisitions, joint ven-

tures, etc. so as to prevent the

emergence of non-competitive

situations. There is no need to

exemplify the way in which the

Pace of transfrontier industrial

restructuring has quickened with

the 1992 deadline and there can be

no doubt but that this activity will

intensify. Businessmen and their

advisers in their day-to-day

business activities will become

more and more conscious of the

relevance of Community competit-

ion rules in the months and years

ahead.

These developments will require

also a strengthening of the

Judiciary. The Single Act therefore

provided for the establishment of a

new Court of First Instance to

supplement the work of the Court

of Justice. It is proposed that this

Court will deal in particular with

competition and perhaps trade

protection issues. At the same

time, the Commission is giving

active encouragement to efforts to

promote national enforcement of

Community law, particularly as

concerns competition.

Thirdly, in the words of the Single

Act, the Single Market is an area

without internal frontiers in which

the free movement of goods,

persons, services and capital is

ensured. We have already seen that

the emerging business configura-

tion will as a result be increasingly

international, whether through

expansion, diversification or joint

venture. Equally, as regards the

consumer, the Single Market will

bring him into increasing contact

with goods and services from

throughout the Community. Thus in

the future an Irish citizen may carry

out transactions using a bank

account anywhere in Europe, to

buy goods and services provided by

any European firm. The products

and services which he buys may

have been certified by, say, an

Italian agency. Following the

"Cassis de Dijon" case,

the Com-

mission will ensure that if goods

are lawfully manufactured and

marketed in one Member State,

they must be allowed free entry

into other Member States. Thus,

those once rather seemingly extra-

ordinary situations which used to

be described in the Private Inter-

national Law examination papers -

whereby an Irish firm insures itself

with a Dutch company against the

loss of goods in transport within

Italy on the basis of a contract

signed in Brussels and paid for in

sterling out of the Irish firm's

German bank account - will

become increasingly familiar. As

business transactions become

increasingly international so will

the law which will regulate them.

Legal Services

And here I come to the nub of my

message today. In the provision of

legal services and advice, the

forces of competition which are

being released throughout the

European Community will apply

with equal strength. I have three

reasons for saying so. Firstly, if the

type of international situation

which I have described above

becomes more and more frequent,

the component of European and of

Private International Law will

become increasingly important in

legal proceedings. Only lawyers

who are versed in these branches

of law can carry out such work. But

of their very nature, such legal

situations can be dealt with by

lawyers from any of the countries

associated with the situation. Thus

there is no automatic reason why

an Irish firm in, say, a joint venture

with a Belgian company will auto-

matically turn to Irish rather than

Belgian lawyers for legal advice and

representation. What the Irish firm

will be looking for is knowledge of

the total legal implications of the

situation and advice which is

competent and efficient. The

internal market will bring the typical

Irish firm into contact with non-

Irish lawyers and in an increasing

number of instances they will be as

well placed to act for it as Irish

lawyers.

Of course, the inverse will be

true; non-Irish firms will come into

increasing contact with Irish

lawyers and will be able to avail of

their services. In legal services as

in every other aspect of the Single

Market, there will be no protected

home market. This will provide the

opportunity and the threat which is

the double-edged sword of com-

petition.

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