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GAZETTE
B
K
W
JAN/FEB 1993 '
The British Year Book of "
International Law 1991
By Ian Brownlie and D. O. Bowett,
(editors), Oxford, Oxford University
Press, 1991, ix -I- 744pp, £90
sterling, hardback.
We belong to a family of nations
whose relations are governed by
international law. We should be
grateful to those who have worked in
the international legal landscape.
Much has been done, particularly
since the end of the second world
war, to establish a new international
order. Those lawyers who have
contributed to, for example, the
Legal Committee of the United
Nations General Assembly, the
Geneva Law of the Sea Conferences,
the International Court of Justice,
the European Commission and
Court of Human Rights and, of
course, the institutions of the
European Communities deserve our
thanks.
Professor
Ian Brownlie
is one of the
editors of this Year Book, now in its
62nd year of issue. It has been stated
that the outstretched hand, searching
for guidance on any matter of public
international law, usually first
reaches for Brownlie's
Principles of
Public International Law,
now in its
fourth edition.
The jurisdiction of the International
Court of Justice in the case brought
by Nicaragua against the United
States in respect of military and
paramilitary activities on Nicaraguan
territory
(ICJ Reports,
1984 and
1986) is considered in considerable
detail by Professor D.W. Greig,
Professor of Law at the Australian
National University, Canberra. The
theme of human rights features
prominently in the Year Book. The
experience of the United Kingdom
between 1975 and 1987 in relation
to compliance with judgments of the
European Court of Human Rights
and the decisions of the Committee
of Ministers is reviewed in some
detail. Articles also consider and
review the decisions on the European
Convention on Human Rights and
the Court of Justice of the European
Communities during 1991 together
with United Kingdom material on
international law.
This is an expensive book. It is a
book for the specialist in
international law, who will derive
much benefit from its publication.
Dr. Eamonn G. Hall
Talking To Your Solicitor
by Mary Kotsonouris, Gill &
McMillan, 1992, 98pp, £4.99,
paperback.
Mary Kotsonouris
as a former
practising solicitor and former judge
of the District Court is eminently
qualified to write a book such as
this.
The book comprising fifteen
chapters deals with various topics of
the law such as: making a will,
bereavement, marriage, living
together, trouble with the neighbours
and, indeed, how to make a
complaint against your solicitor.
There are other practical topics and
the last chapter of the book contains
addresses and telephone numbers of
useful services and also contains a
glossary giving simple explanations
of the meaning of legal words.
In the chapter on 'The Arm of the
Law,' she gives some examples about
the way in which a normally law
abiding person can get involved with
the Gardai. She gives good practical
advice about, say, being a witness in
court or, more importantly, going
bail for a person. She says in
relation to going bail, if in doubt -
don't. I am sure that her approach
to this has been influenced by her
time on the bench when she
probably came across persons who
were surprised when they lost money
as a result of going bail.
The chapter on marriage gives
details of the status of people who
are married and the various rights
which follow, but in her good advice
on the transfer of the family home
into joint names there are errors in
relation to stamp duty and
inheritance tax and spouses in so far
as she has overlooked the exemptions
in the Family Home Protection Act,
1976 and the Finance Act, 1990,
which, no doubt, will be corrected in
later editions. This chapter which
also deals with the legal position of
the marriage of divorced persons is
very appropriate in this day and age.
She also makes the point that
marriage invalidates a will (unless
made in contemplation thereof)
which is often something the lay
person is not aware of and thus it is
no harm to bring it to the attention
of the reader.
In her chapter on living together, she
points out that the law really says
very little about this and strongly
advises that people entering into this
type of relationship should have a
simple agreement to provide for their
split up, which is, of course, very
sound advice. In situations such as
this, she strongly recommends that
the persons involved should make a
will, and points out the pitfalls of
entering into such a relationship, in
particular, that the benefits of the
family law legislation in relation to
barring and maintenance does not
protect the unmarried person.
I found her style of writing most
readable and humorous and indeed,
the style reminded me of a well
known. Irish novelist and journalist,
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