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CURRENT LAW DIGEST
SELECTED
In reading this digest regard should be had to
differences between Irish and English statute law.
Aliens
Directions given by
the Home Office
to B.O.A.C.
under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, for the
return to Pakistan of two immigrants who entered the
country illegally by boat were held not to have been
validly made within the required two months.
[R. v. Chief Immigration Officer;
Ex Parte
Asgher,
and All. Q.B.D.
The Times,
11 November, 1970.]
Charities
The
Incorporated Council of Law Reporting
for
England and Wales, which publishes the
Law Reports
and the
Weekly Law Reports
was granted a declaration
that it was entitled to registration as a charity under
section 4 of the Charities Act, 1960. Foster J. held, in
a reserved judgement, that the Council's objects were
charitable as being purposes beneficial to the community,
in enabling judge made law to be properly developed
and administered by the courts, and within the spirit
and
intendment of
the preamble
to
the Statute of
Elizabeth I (1601).
[Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England
and Wales v. Attorney General, Chancery Division.
The
Times,
4 December, 1970.]
Compulsory Acquisition
A House of Lords decision reported in
The Times
on
July 17, 1969. that the 100-year-old practice of valuing
compulsorily acquired land at the date of the notice to
treat was wrong was held not to entitle landowners to
appeal against a valuation by the Lands Tribunal made
on July 11, 1969, on the old basis as being wrong in law.
The Courts also held that the Australian Pointe Gourde
principle that in valuing land compulsorily acquired the
increase in its value attributable to the scheme under
lying the acquisition had to be disregarded was still valid
and that the question whether a 'scheme" existed was a
matter of fact for the tribunal and not for the court.
[Wilson and Another v. Liverpool Corporation; Ct. of
Appeal.
The Times,
26 November, 1970.]
Contempt of Court
An application to commit a person for contempt by
disobedience of an order of the court made in civil pro
ceedings is a criminal charge such that the person sought
to be committed cannot be compelled to give evidence
lest he criminate himself. But where he has himself
voluntarily given evidence by putting a sworn affidavit
before the court, the court has a discretion to allow him
to be cross-examined on that evidence
so long as the
cross-examination is limited to the issue giving rise to
the contempt and does not go too wide.
[Comet Products U.K. Ltd. v. Hawkex Plastics Ltd.
and Another. Court of Appeal.
The Times, 9
December,
1970.]
Contract
Warehousemen were not
to be
liable on a con
tract for the storage of groundnuts which were damaged
by rats because of the conditions in the contract excluded
liability.
[Keryon, Son & Graver Ltd. v. Bextar Hoore & Co.
Ltd. and Another. Q.B.D.
The Times,
9 December, 1970.]
Where in contracts for the sale and purchase of cocoa
the money of account was Nigerian pounds and English
buyers had the option of providing sterling in place of
Nigerian pounds, the buyers were bound after the de
valuation of the pound to provide enough pounds ster
ling
to make up
the contract number of Nigerian
pounds. Accordingly the English buyers had to provide
£116/5/0 sterling for every 100 Nigerian pounds and the
Nigerian sellers were not £-stopped from so contending.
[Woodhouse and Others v. Nigerian Produce Market
ing Co Ltd Court of Appeal.
The Times
25 November,
1970.] '
Copyright
An architect who prepared plans for clients for the
purpose of obtaining full planning permission to build
two houses on a site and was paid the scale fee under
the 1962 R.I.B.A. conditions for that work was held not
to be entitled to damages for infringement of his copy
right in the plans when his clients sold the site with the
benefit of the planning permission and his plans were
used by another firm in erecting the houses on the site,
for where an architect has been paid a fee for work
up to a certain stage he implied by licenses the use of the
plans for building on the site in substantial accordance
with the plans.
The Court dismissed an appeal by Mr. Dennis Blair,
architect, of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, from
the
decision of Judge Corley at Luton County Court in
February awarding him nominal damages of 40s. on
his claim for damages for breach of copyright against
Osborne & Tomkins quantity surveyors, of Luton, and
dismissing his claim against P. W. Byrne, Ltd., builders'
of Luton for infringement of his copyright in plans for
a pair of semi-detached houses off Skywood Road, St.
Albans.
[Blair v. Osborne & Tomkins & Another. Court of
Appeal.
The Times,
13 November, 1970.]
COMPANY FORMATION
The Society's company formation service is
available to members. Precedents are sup
plied if required. All routine work is carried
out by the Society. 1,000 have been formed
since
the establishment of this service
in
November 1968.
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