The Gazette 1976

THE INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND

GAZETTE

JUNE - JULY 1976

VOL. 70 NO. 5

BANK STRIKE

In anticipation of a closure of the Associated Banks,

the Council of the Society at its meeting on 17th June,

1976, authorised the President to make the Solicitors

Accounts (Amendment) Regulations, 1976 (S.I. No.

125 of 1976) as set out in these columns.

Since the Statutory Instrument was made, the

President has approved the following banks licensed

y the Central Bank under the terms of Section 9 of

Ine Central Bank Act, 1971, for the purposes of the

Accounts Regulations: —

Allied Irish Banks Ltd.

Allied Irish Investment Bank Ltd.

Ansbasher & Co. Ltd.

Investment Bank of Ireland Ltd.

Northern Bank Finance Corporation Ltd.

Ulster Investment Bank Ltd.

Anthony Gibbs Ireland Ltd.

City of Dublin Bank Ltd.

Irish Intercontinental Bank Ltd-

Trinity Bank Ltd.

It has been drawn to the Society's attention that the

'First National City Bank of Chicago" as listed in the

Regulations, should have been designated as the "First

National Bank of Chicago".

The Society has written to the Irish Banks Standing

Committee on various problems arising for the pro-

fession during the currency of the strike and in the

settlement of various problem situations thereafter. A

ply is awaited.

The situation regarding the lodgment and payment

moneys in High Court Actions etc., has been raised

with the Accountant of the Courts of Justice by Mr.

Houlihan, member of the Superior Court Rules Com-

mittee. In reply the Accountant has stated: —

The position is that my cash account is kept in the

ank of Ireland as the Rules of Court require. The

drafts which have recently come into your possession

are drawn on this account and regrettably cannot be

paid out of my account until the Bank of Ireland re-

opens. I could not have anticipated this difficulty by

transferring my cash account or part of it to another

Bank before the strike began as this procedure would

be contrary to Order 77 Rule 20.

This Rule provides that all moneys to be lodged in

Court shall be paid in at the Bank, the Bank being de-

fined in Order 111 as the Bank of Ireland. Presumably

the cheques to which you refer are drawn on accounts

in Banks also affected by the strike. If so it would not

be possible to have such cheques cleared for lodgment

in Court during the closure of the Banks of issue.

The position outlined about obtained during the

closure of the Banks in 1970/1971.

Regarding notional lodgments of cash under Order

22, this is a matter for arrangement between the parties

to the Court Actions; and such arrangements were

common during the last closure. In fact the forms of

Request for Lodgment (Order 77 Rule 21 No. 9) were

lodged in this Office in the usual way by the Solicitors

for the defendants during the entire period and the

Accountant's direction for lodgment was signed by

him and the forms returned to the Solicitors even

though the actual lodgments could not be made at the

time.

I would mention, however, that funds not yet lodged

in Court are not subject to these Rules, and where

cash is available, it might be placed on deposit account

in any of the Banks specified in the Trustee (Author-

ised Investments) Act, 1958. Some of these are open

for business, e.g. the Post Office Savings Bank, Trustee

Savings Banks in the State and the Agricultural Credit

Corporation Limited".