The Gazette 1975

to body. London, Butterworth, 1975. Price £39 if

ordered in 1975; £45 if ordered in 1976 (including

all Supplements to end of 1976).

The previous editions of this learned work, from the

first edition in 1954 to the third edition in 1967, had

been undertaken by Mr. David Kemp and by his wife,

Mrs. Sylvia Kemp, who has since died, and conse-

quently, the contents of the two previous volumes have

been radically revised. The Preface points out that

various suggestions in previous editions have now be-

come law in England, such as that Judges assess awards

in the light of previous awards, and that lengthy jury

trials for personal injuries were eliminated; it is high

time juries should be dispensed with in civil cases in

Ireland. In view of the fact that inflation is constantly

diminishing the value of money, it is obvious that the

amounts made for awards some years ago cannot be

relied upon. Consequently the contents of the two pre-

vious volumes have been completely revised.

Volume 1 contains four parts as follows : (1) Law

and practice common to both Personal Injury and

Fatal Accident claims. (2) Law and practice applicable

to Personal Injury claims only. (3) Law and practice

applicable to Fatal Injury claims only, including classi-

fied awards in such claims. (4) Appendices to relevant

Texts of English statutes, including specimen pleadings

in Fatal Accident claims and the involved question of

full pecuniary compensation. Such questions as the

incidence of tax and of benefits and of losses of ameni-

ties in life in personal injury claims, as well as claims

for the death of the various different relatives are fully

dealt with. There are numerous examples of awards

made by High Court Judges, which were either in-

creased or reduced on appeal, but unfortunately the

jury's verdict is normally paramount in Ireland. In the

same way as our Supreme Court, the English case of

Mitchell v. Mulholland — (1972) 1 Q.B. — has stressed

the importance of actuarial evidence, but difficulties

may arise over actuarial tables.

Volume II—which is loose-leaf, consists of the follow-

ing parts : (1) Table of Cases; (2) Injuries of the utmost

severity such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, very severe

brain damage, and permanent unconsciousness; (3)

Cases of multiple injuries; (4) Injuries to the head,

including epilepsy, face, ear and teeth; (5) Injuries ,

affecting hearing, sight, taste and balance; (6) Injuries

affecting the neck and the spine; (7) Injuries affecting

internal respiratory, digestive and reproductive organs;

(8) Injuries affecting the pelvis and hip; (9) Injuries

affecting the arm, hand and fingers; (10) Injuries affect-

ing the legs and foot; (11) Miscellaneous conditions,

including osteo-arthritis, traumatic neurosis, and loss of

consortium; (12) Cases of complete recovery in the

event of pain or shock; and (13) Mathematical awards

in fatal accidents.

Each of these sections consists first of Headnotes

mostly from unreported English judgments, then a list

of unauthenticated awards, and finally the text of full

judgments, many of them unreported. Practitioners will

appreciate that, for comparative purposes these tables

are invaluable, but, of course, they will always have to

consider the vagaries of juries in the Irish High Court.

These volumes are absolutely indispensable to all prac-

titioners who have to deal constantly with personal

injury or fatal accident claims. The authors are to be

congratulated upon their industry in collating this

material, while the publishers have as usual to be com-

mended for the skilful presentation of the text. The high

price is unfortunately inevitable in these days of infla-

tion, when the cost of newsprint and other materials is

soaring.

Treitel (G. H.)—The Law of Contract. 4th edition.

London, Stevens, 1975. Pp. xlix, 721. 25 cm. £6.80

paperback.

Those of us who have known Mr. Treitel's learned

work since the first edition in 1962, had already grasped

that the All Souls Reader in English Law (not in English

as stated on the cover) was an expert on the law of

obligations and contract. The mastery displayed in

explaining the most difficult propositions of law relating

in particular to Standard Form, Contracts, Mistake,

Misrepresentation, Privity and Agency had already

placed this textbook in a very special category which

mainly honours students appreciated. The learned

author had the knack of explaining cases in a way in

which they could be easily memorised. This applies

all the more to this edition, and particularly to the

final chapter on Remedies, where innumerable up-to-

date cases are summarised. Presumably there are so

many English cases summarised that the learned author

did not consider it worth while to mention at least

some Irish cases; this attitude is regrettable. Instances

of modern cases are : (1) Harbutt's Plasticine v. Wayne

Tank Co. — (1970) 1 Q.B. — where defendants lost

because they carried out negligently a contract to

design and install in the plaintiff's factory a particular

equipment. (2) Lewis v. Averay — (1972) 1 Q.B. 198

— following Phillips v. Brooke (1919) in which a rogue,

who purported to be Richard Greene, the well-known

actor, induced the plaintiff to sell his car to him, and

produced a worthless cheque; he then sold the car to

defendant, who bought it in good faith. The plaintiff

claimed the car from the defendant, but the claim

failed, because the Court held the plaintiff intended to

contract with the person physically before him. (3)

Wroth v. Tyler — (1974) Ch.D. 30 — in which the

defendants argued that they should not be liable for

the full difference between the contract price and the

market price, as they could not have contemplated the

exceptionally large rises in house prices that occurred

between 1971 and 1973. This was rejected by Megarry

J. who held that the plaintiff was entitled to compen-

sation for his loss in not getting a house. These exam-

ples of modern jurisprudence in contract are fascin-

ating, and the author has patiently gathered together

in a most readable way hundreds of similar cases. This

remains the leading readable textbook on Contract, and

practitioners are strongly advised to acquire it.

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