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MARKING OF MAP FOR SUB-DIVISION
APPLICATION
A member wrote to the Society and enquired whether
the architects fee for having a map marked for the pur-
pose of the application to the Land Commission for
consent to sub-division is the responsibility of the ven-
dor or the purchaser. The Council stated that the ven-
dor required the Land Commission's consent to en-
able him to complete the transaction and such consent
is accordingly part of his title. In these circumstances
the expense incurred in obtaining a map and having
the same marked is the responsibility of the vendor.
Courts BUI, 1971
The Courts Bill which was introduced in Seanad
Eireann and has received a second reading contains a
number of revisions some of historic as well as practical
importance. For the first time solicitors are to be given a
right of audience in all the Courts from the Supreme
Court to the District Court. Solicitors had a right of
audience in the old County Courts prior to the Treaty
and they continued to have this right under the Circuit
Courts established in 1924. In general the right of
audience in the Circuit Court has not been widely
used, partly it has been suggested due to the reluctance
of some Circuit judges in the past to hear solicitors as
advocates—although it must be said that this attitude
has not been general. There may be other practical
reasons such as the difficulty of attending to Court busi-
ness and office business in a busy practice and the
normal division of function which exists between office,
lawyer and the advocate. It will be recalled that a pro-
vision giving a solicitor a right of audience in the
High Court on appeals from the Circuit Court was in-
cluded in one of the Courts of Justice Bills in the 1950s.
When the Bill was introduced in Dail Eireann the
Ceann Gomhairle ruled that the particular provision was
not in accordance with the preamble and it was ruled
out of order and therefore never discussed. Now for the
first time the matter comes fairly and squarely before
the Oireachtas.
The Bench
When the bill becomes law the only remaining differ-
ences between the two branches of the profession will
be their separate methods of education and also the
fact that members of the Bar alone are eligible for
appointment as judges of the Superior Courts and the
Circuit Court. The Bar and the solicitors' profession
share the right of appointment to the District Court
Bench. It may well be asked whether in the new cir-
cumstances of the case there is any valid ground for
this distinction. The sole test of any system is public
advantage. The preservation of a strong and independ-
ent profession of advocate is essential for the protec-
tion of civil rights. Both the Bar and the solicitors' pro-
fession have served the public well in this respect in
the past. Under a separate or a dual system advocacy
will no doubt continue to be a speciality and the divis-
ion of function wll continue when the division of
status has disappeared.
The EEC
One interesting effect of the new proposal will be its
effect on the status of solicitors and counsel in the
E.E.C. Courts. The Treaty of Rome in conferring the
right of audience uses the French term avocat. There
has been some confusion as to the interpretation of this
term in regard to a divided profession. If solicitors have
a right of audience in all Courts there can be little
doubt that then the solicitor must be regarded as an
avocat for all purposes including the European Courts.
The Bill also makes provision for service of Superior
Court documents by registered post. This is a welcome
innovation which has been proposed by the Society for
many years. It is regretted that the same provision is
not extended to all the Courts and that the existing pro-
visions with regard to a manual delivery of documents
in civil proceedings will continue to apply in the Cir-
cuit and District Courts except in cases in which no
summons servers have been assigned. There seems to be
little reason why there should not be a uniform pro-
cedure with provision for services by ordinary post or any
other method authorised by rules in appropriate cases.
Experience has shown that service by registered post
may facilitate evasion by the debtor who is alerted to
the fact that a registered envelope may contain a sum-
mons directing him to appear in Court to answer the
claim of a creditor, but this difficulty could be avoided
by suitable provisions in Rules of Court for alternative
methods of service appropriate to the circumstances.
Delayed Justice
The profession has long advocated the necessity of
appointing a sufficient number of judges to prevent a
back log of unheard cases in civil matters. Criminal
work takes up so great a part of the calendar that
civil work in the Circuit and District Courts, particul-
arly in Dublin, tends to get into arrear. Extended juris-
diction will highlight the necessity of appointing
additional judges notwithstanding the remarks of
Senator Fitzgerald in the Senate on the possibility of
extending the judicial working day. The extended juris-
diction will require additional court rooms and addi-
tional judges particularly in Dublin. The opportunity
should now be taken of introducing a procedure for
fixed dates for the trial of civil actions. It has been
repeatedly urged that the expenditure on judicial
salaries which would facilitate the adoption of this
beneficial reform would be more than compensated by
the avoidance of loss to the community through delay
and unnecessary waiting time of the parties, their wit-
nesses and lawyers. It is difficult to convince the
Department of Finance that any direct expenditure on
the legal administration will be compensated by unseen
savings but surely it must be apparent that the loss
caused to the community by an outmoded and creak-
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