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GAZETTE
A.I.J .A. XIX Congress:
Dublin,
August 24 - 28, 1981
The 1981 Congress of the Association Internationale
des Jeunes Avocats took place in Dublin· on August 24
to 28.
It
was the 19th Congress of the Association,
founded in Toulouse, France, in 1962 as a non-political
organization dedicated to furthering the interest of
young lawyers and of the entire legal profession and to
encouraging co-operation among lawyers of all the
world .
More than 200 delegates from some 30 countries
attended the Congress divided into four working
groups, discussing the topics of adoption, medical
negligence, the future of the legal profession and anti–
trust regulations.
The working group on the future of the legal
profession, examining the results of a two-year survey
conducted by A.I.J .A., analysed the elements of change
of a social, economical and technical nature that would
be facing the legal profession over the next 20 years,
paying particular attention to areas of society where
legal advice is not presently available and looking at the
great problems connected with the giving of efficient legal
services economically, and at the various ways in which
technology (both with regard to the communications
and to the computer developments) can assist.
The working group on medical responsibility devoted
itself to specific aspects of an otherwise exceptionally
wide subject.
It
emphasised the duty of the doctor to
inform the patient before submitting him to a treatment
or an operation, in order to obtain from the patient
himself an informed consent: this should apply, if at all
possible, even in the case when a different ailment is
discovered by the doctor in the course of an operation.
On the question of the duty of the doctor to prolong the
life of the patient at all costs, the working group was of
the opinion that no such duty exists when brain activity
, has stopped or brain damage is irreversible. With
regar~
to the doctor's responsibility for his medical team, It
was considered that such responsibility should be
directly related to the effective power of control that the
doctor can exercise over its members.
The working group on adoption debated the sensitive
issues arising from adoption, namely the central one of
whether all ties with the natural family should be finally
and irrevocably cut off, as well as that of maintaining a
distinction, present in many national laws, between a
"full" adoption and a "restricted" adoption. Among
items discussed were the advisability, in certain limited
cases, of "secret" adoption, i.e. adoption that
a~~ids
any connection between original and adoptive familIes;
and the exclusion of revocation when full adoption has
taken place.
The working group on anti-trust legislation was
concerned with comparative analyses of different
aspects of this area of law in both the U.S.A. and the
E.E.C. Areas covered included Trade Association,
distribution and other vertical agreements, monopolis–
ation and the abuse of a dominant position and joint
ventures. Investigation and enforcement procedures
were also discussed.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1982
The Congress marked the end of the year of office of
Spanish lawyer Eduardo Ruiz De Luna Y Brugees and
the accession to office as president of A.I.J .A. of Rolf
Meurs-Gerken of Copenhagen. Walter Semple of
Glasgow, Scotland, was elected First Vice-President (or
President - elect), while Marie-Anne Bastin of Brussels
and Klaus Guenther of K()ln were confirmed as
treasurer and general secretary respectively.
The 20th Congress of A.I.J .A. will be held in
Lausanne, Switzerland, from August 22 to 27, 1982.
An Open Letter to the Lawyers of Ireland
from The President of the A.I.J.A.
The first euphoria of our congress in Dublin's fair
city where the girls are so pretty is over; we are all back
at work at the bar, at the desk - it's autumn, rainy,
foggy.
But still, we feel enlighted, strengthened to cope with
the dark and cold days of winter by the wonderful
memories we have of the important work we succeeded
in doing during the day and the great fun we had with
our Irish hosts during the evenings and nights.
At no AIJA Congress in my experience have thanks
been better earned or more deserved than they were at
the AIJA Congress in Dublin in August. Thanks have
been amply given to those of you who worked extremely
hard to make our Congress an outstanding success.
But these thanks alone did not seem to me to be quite
sufficient. Not only were thanks due for the vast
amount of administration to ensure fruitful working
sessions, for the inspiration with which the events to
entertain your guests were chosen and for faultless
efficiency with which the whole Congress was carried
through, but your guests became aware of another
dimension. Many of us had heard of the hospitality of
the Irish. Your reputation is one thing, but the actual
experience of a warm welcome from hosts who were so
obviously pleased to see us and who, without fuss or
trouble, were so obviously interested in making sure
that we felt welcome and enjoyed ourselves in their
country, was something we shall never forget.
Of course it is important to work to good effect and
that we did with your help, but an atmosphere where
friendships can be made and fostered is perhaps just as
important and no more so than in an organisation like
the A.I.J .A.
I hope that your experience of us has encouraged you
to think that the A.I.J .A. and the lawyers of Ireland
have much to contribute to each other.
We do hope to see at least some of you at our
Congress in Lausanne, August 23rd to 28th, 1982.
On behalf of our Association, our warmest and heart–
felt thanks to you all.
P. R. Meurs-Gerken
Amaliegade No. 22,
1256, Copenhagen.
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