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GAZETTE
March 1976
BOOK REVIEWS
TEMPERLEY, R. The Merchant Shipping Act.
7th
edition by Michael Thomas and David Steel. London:
Stevens, 1976. ci, 1001 p.
The 6th edition of this learned work was published
13 years ago, in 1963. Ever since Judge McNair helped
Mr. Temperley with the 3rd edition in 1927, this work
has acquired authority, as in Part it analyses with
notes section by section the 742 sections of the
Merchant Shipping Act 1894, with schedules still in
force. After that, all the more modern Acts relating
to shipping that apply in England from the Maritime
Conventions Act 1911 and Pilotage Act 1913 to the
Merchant Shipping Act 1974, are set out in similar
fashion. In this connection it should be noted that the
Irish Safety and Loan Lines Conventions Act of 1933
closely follows the British Act of 1932, The Irish
Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act 1939, dealt with
miscellaneous matters, such as the power of the
Minister to prescribe fees. The Irish Merchant Ship-
ping Act 1947 corresponds to the British Act of 1948,
and gives effect to the scheduled International Mari-
time Convention of Seattle. The Irish Merchant Ship-
ping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952, gives effect to the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
of London (1948) and corresponds to the British Act
of 1949. The Irish Mercantile Marine Act 1955 pro-
vides in modern form for the ownership and registry
of Irish ships and for the mortgage sale and transfer of
such ships; it repeals Part I of the 1894 Act. The
Irish Pilotage (Amendment) Act 1962, makes a few
changes to the 1913 Act. The Irish Merchant Shipping
Act 1966 gives effect to an International Convention
for the Safety of Life at Sea of London (1960), and
corresponds to the British Act of 1964. The Merchant
Shipping (Load Lines Convention) Act 1968 gives
effect to the International Convention on Load Lines
of London (1966) and corresponds to the British Act
of 1967. It will thus be seen that this well known
textbook, which has been so expertly brought up to
date in this edition, will be of considerable use to
Irish practitioners.
Annual Survey of Commonwealth Law, 1974.
London:
Butterworth, 1974. xcii, 777p.
This is the tenth volume of this famous series pre-
pared under the auspices of the British Institute of
International and Comparative Law, and of the
Faculty of Law of Oxford University in the Bodleian
Library, Oxford. As usual, no less than 21 topics are
covered by different experts, including Family Law,
Land Law, Torts, Contract, Commercial Law, Labour
Law, Company Law and Criminal Law. In English
Constitutional Law, the House of Lords decision in
British Railways Board
v.
Pockin
— (1974) 1 All E R
— in which the Courts expressed concern that they
should not invade parliamentary privilege is fully
noted. In
Geelong Harbour Commissioners
v. Gibbs
Bright
— (1974) 2 All E R — the Privy Council held
that the Australian High Court can decide cases for
itself, without following decisions of the House of
Lords. In India, the Supreme Court expectedly re-
jected the contention that detention under the Main-
tenance of Internal Security Act 1971 was unlawful
(Bhut Nath
v.
West Bengal,
A.I.R., 1974.) In
R. v.
Holcomb
(1973) 6 N.B.R., the New Brunswick Supreme
Court allowed bail in a murder case. In
Mridah
v.
State
(1973) 26 Dacca L.J., the High Court of Bangladesh
held that, as arrest and detention on mere suspicion
without any material to connect the persons arrested
with the crimes suspected was beyond the powers
given by the Scheduled Offences Order, 1972, which
in any case could not claim any higher status than
the Constitution itself and consequently the detention
orders were set aside. The Supreme Court in India
has quashed a detention order because inordinate and
unexplained delay in considering the representation
made by the detainee against his detention infringed
his right to representation under the Indian Con-
stitution. (
Samblin Kar
v.
West Bengal,
A.I.R., 1973.)
These examples will show the throughness with
which the learned outhors in each chapter have un-
earthed even the most distant decisions. The value of
such a readily available volume to the vital decisions
in Commonwealth countries is incalculable. The
authors have carried out their intricate research with
their accustomed high standard, and the lay-out leaves
nothing to be desired. This series is invaluable to all
students of Comparative Law.
FROMMEL, S. N. and J. H. THOMPSON, eds.
Company Law in Europe.
London: Kluwer-Harrap
Handbooks, 1975. xiii, 669p. Price £19.00.
The purpose of this book is to help English speaking
readers to gain a better understanding of the Com-
pany Laws of Western Europe. Apart from Britain
and Ireland, not only are the seven Continental
Member States of the European Community covered,
but also Austria, Liechtenstein, Spain, Sweden and
Switzerland, which makes the volume really compre-
hensive. We are indebted to Mr. Damien Kelly,
Solicitor, for a useful summary of Irish Law of 10
pages. Mr. Kelly has been unduly humble, as, unlike
the other writers, he has not given us a full account of
his previous achievements; admittedly, Mr. Thomp-
son, in dealing with United Kingdom Company Law,
had simplified his task. An expert has written each
chapter in relation to his own country, and the
headings like "Rights of Members" and "Manage-
ment" are clearly set out. Company lawyers who
transact business with their European colleagues will
find this book indispensible.
CLERK, J. F. and W. H. B. LINDSELL, The Law of
Torts.
14th edition under the general editorship of
Sir Arthur L. Armitage and
R.
W. M. Dias. London:
Sweet and Maxwell, 1975. ccssv, 1269p. Price £30.00.
When the original authors first published this work
in 1896, it is doubtful whether they thought of the
tremendous subsequent success which their work
inspired. Sir Arthur Armitage had been the editor of
the 13th edition in 1969, and it is remarkable that
despite the subsequent English legislation and case
law, the current edition is no longer than its pre-
decessor. For instance the chapter on Principles of
Liability in Tort by Dr. Dias has been rewritten. An
interesting remark (p. 11) based on recent case law is
that the Courts appear readier to countenance new
invasions of the sanctity of one's body and physical
property than purely pecuniary interests. In —
Lotus
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