The Gazette 1993

VOL. 87 NO. 2

JULY/AUGUST 1993

the needs of the professional bodies.

The first full-time academic teacher,

Dr. Phillips, was appointed in 1934

and the developments since 1962 when

Dr. V.T.H. Delany took up his

appointment as the Regius Professor

of Laws followed by Dr. RFV Heuston

have been very significant. Important

improvements have also taken place

during recent tenures.

It is not possible in this short book

notice to do justice to the

contributions in this book. However,

the contributions may be mentioned.

Ms. Niamh Hyland considers the

pregnant woman in the workplace;

Professor WN Osborough writes on

sport, freedom and the criminal law;

Mr. Brian Murray deals with the right |

to silence and corporate crime; and

Mr. Anthony Whelan's topic relates to

the principle of self-determination of

peoples. The abortion controversy,

divorce and the right to life are

considered by Professor William

Binchy, Professor William Duncan

and Mr. Gerard Hogan. Access to the

courts is the topic considered by Mr.

Gerry Whyte and the human rights

approach to refugees is considered by

Ms. Liz Hefferan.

The Trinity members of the legal

academy display exhilarating

erudition in

Law and Liberty in

Ireland

but they also illuminate the

topical issues under consideration for

the general reader. This book

has been printed in a handsome

manner. Oak Tree Press (Gerard

O'Connor and David Givens) the

publishers (in association with Trinity

Law School) are developing a

reputation for uncompromising

quality.

There is much to admire in

Law and

Liberty in Ireland.

It is rich in

perceptive observations. The analysis

is balanced and never hackneyed. The

book will be a souvenir for law

graduates of Trinity College but other

readers will find this tapestry of

thought and analysis enormously

informative, provocative and

eminently readable.

Dr. Eamonn G. Hall

Public Procurement

By Philip Lee, Butterworths, 1992,

194 +ccxlvi pp, IR£85.00.

Lord Coleridge, CJ, once observed

that it must be remembered that all

trade is and must be, in a sense,

selfish; the trade of a particular place

or district being possibly very limited,

"what one man gains, another loses."

[Mogul Steamship Co. -v- McGregor

Gow & Co.

(1988) LR 21 QBD 557.]

Lord Coleridge continued by noting

that "in the hand-to-hand war of

commerce," whether at the bar, in

Parliament, in medicine or

engineering, men fight on without

much thought of others, "except a

desire to excel or defeat them." Those

who wish to excel in commerce must

be admired. Different sentiments

apply to those who wish to defeat

others, particularly in the context of

the description of business as hand-to-

hand warfare.

One may compete (and do so

vigorously), but the public expression

of an intention to defeat one's

competitors is another matter. No

judge or lawyer today would subscribe

in public in the manner in which Lord

Coleridge expressed his sentiments -

particularly in terms of defeating

one's competitors. In particular, no

one in the public service could do so.

Consider the

Competition Act, 1991

and Articles 85 to 94 of the

Treaty of

Rome.

Specifically, persons involved

in public procurement, for whom

Philip Lee's book is intended, could

not speak in public of desiring to

defeat the competition.

Mr. Peter D. Sutherland, in his preface

to the book, observes that the subject

of public procurement is peculiarly

important as a barometer of the

success or failure of the economic

integration that is fundamental to the

development of the union of Member

States of the Community. Mr.

Sutherland notes that there is a little

confidence among economic operators

that

true competition

will develop in

this area in the foreseeable future. It is

in this context that Philip Lee's book

j assumes importance. The words of

! Jeremiah

(13.22) in the Old Testament

j may be appropriate here: "Can an

Ethiopian change his skin, or a

i leopard his spots?" But let us not

forget the inscription carved over the

entrance to the Yale Law School,

1929-1931: "The law is a living

growth, not a changeless code." Law

is a potent agent for change; the legal

, academy and practitioners have a great

potential to bring about change in

practices by advising of the new law,

initiating legal actions, and thus

rooting out any unlawful practices

through the legal process. As we

j write, we may not be able to see the

end of the road - but this should not

prevent us from setting out on the

necessary journey.

Philip Lee in his introduction notes

that "public procurement law"

probably means little to most lawyers

educated in the common law system.

The public procurement of goods,

supplies and services by central

! government, local government and

bodies governed by public law like the

"semi-state" bodies is extensive. The

author argues that public procurement

is about fairness: the money spent on

public procurement belongs to the

citizens of the European Communities.

The book considers the relevant

' supplies directive, the public works

directives, public procurement in the

excluded sectors - the so-called

utilities directive, public services

directive, regional aspects of public

procurement and legal remedies for

breaches of Community law. The

appendices set out relevant value

thresholds and directives.

Philip Lee has provided an extensive

guide to the intricacies of the law of

| public procurement. He has presented

us with a thorough and perceptive

I treatment of a subject that has

assumed considerable importance in

the law of Ireland. The book is

recommended for those lawyers who

advise companies, firms and

j individuals who work for central

government, local government and the

public utilities, as well as those who

manage the public utilities.

Dr. Eamonn G. Hall

216