The Gazette 1988

329 / 370

GAZETTE DECEMBER 1988
In
this
Issue
Rights of an Agent to
Reimbursement and
Indemnity 317
For your Diary 321
President's Column 323
Solicitors and VAT 325
Aids in the Workplace 327
Computers
- where to start 328
Disciplinary Committee
Annual Report 334
Law Society Submissions
on 1989 Budget 337
Professional Information 344
*
Executive Editor:
Mary Gaynor
Committee:
Geraldine Clarke, Chairman
Eamonn G. Hall, Vice-Chairman
John F. Buckley
Gary Byrne
Timothy Dalton
Charles R. M. Meredith
Daire Murphy
John Schutte
Advertising:
Liam 0 hOisin. Telephone: 305236
307860
Printing:
Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford.
: *
The views expressed in this publication,
save where otherwise indicated, are the
views of the contributors and not
necessarily the views of the Council of
the Society.
The appearance of an advertisement in
this publication does not necessarily
indicate approval by the Society for the
product or service advertised.
Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.
Tel.: 710711. Telex: 31219. Fax: 710704.
A A INCORPORATE D
I / I / L I L LAWSOCIETY
h H / L I r OF IRELAND
I f c l H I I Vol.82 No. 10 December
Viewpoint
The announcement by the Attorney
General at the launch of the
National Newspapers of Ireland
Report on Press Freedom and Libel
that he is referring the Law of
Defamation to the Law Reform
Commission for examination is
welcome. So too is the Report
itself, wh i ch appears at a time
when libel claims, particularly in the
United Kingdom, have reached new
heights. It is difficult to avoid the
c o n c l u s i on t h at t he " S u n "
newspaper regards its payment of
over a million pounds damages to
Elton John almost as if it were
giving him the first prize in the
Bingo competition. Certainly it
seems to have generated as much
publicity for itself out of the
settlement as if it had run such a
competition.
The point is already being
made in the U.K. that the amounts
wh i ch have been awarded by
juries in defamation actions are
incompatible w i th the levels of
awards by judges in personal injury
actions and a call is being made
for the removal of these actions
from juries. It seems fairly clear that
if these awards by juries have
been excep t i ona l ly high it is
because there is an element of
the punitive in them, in that the
juries have considered not just the
extent of the damage to the
plaintiff's reputation but also the
recklessness of the newspapers
in pub l i s h i ng u n c o r r o b o r a t ed
allegations against the plaintiffs.
It may well be that instead of
removing the defamation actions
from juries, which must be difficult
to defend, since the jury is surely
the best representative of the
persons in whose eyes the plaintiff
claims to have been defamed,
consideration might be given to
restricting the rights of " pub l ic
persons" to bring such actions
along the lines of the New York
Times -v- Sullivan case.
Irish juries, under the supervision
of the Supreme Court, have not by
and large been excessive in their
awards. None t he l ess there is
disquiet both on the part of persons
who feel they have been unfairly
treated by the media and of the
media itself that the law and
practice on de f ama t i on needs
updating and this the Law Reform
Commission will soon be tackling.
There is, however, one anomaly in
the Rules of Court relating to
defamation actions which might
well be amended. In no other tort
action is a defendant precluded
from making a lodgment wi t hout
admission of liability. It is not
obvious why this distinction should
apply in defamation actions. It does
n o t h i ng to assist t he early
settlement of cases and appears to
be unfair to the defendants. It is
something which might perhaps be
considered by the Superior Court
Rules Committee. •
YOUNGER
MEMBERS
COMMITTEE
• QUIZ NIGHT •
Sponsored by the
Irish Permanent Building Society
Thursday, 23 February, 1989
at 8 . 30 p.m.
at t he Killeshin Hotel,
Portlaois
For further details please contact:
Mr. Eugene O'Connor,
Alured Rolleston & Co.,
Solicitors,
Ch u r ch Street,
Portlaois,
Co. Laois.
Tel.: 0 5 0 2 / 2 1 3 29
315