296 / 336
of Chief Justice Kennedy or of Mr. Justice Gavan
Duffy.
The learned Judge recognised that in Ireland on
account of the long history of the use of physical force
against what were considered to be anti-national laws,,
it was essential for the well being of the body politic
that every effort should be made to cultivate respect
for the rule of law. He therefore took care to ensure as
far as he could that the scales of justice were evenly
held between the duties and rights of citizens. All his
judgments display a meticulous balancing of pros and
cons in their elucidation of fine shades of meaning; an
obvious anxiety that right should be done; and a dis-
pleasure with mere technicalities which might defeat
justice.
In view of his vast experience, surprisingly occasional
complaints were made that, as a Judge, he was inclined
to be impatient and to arrive at conclusions without
having heard all the desiderata. If there was any justi-
fication for these allegations, it was possibly due to the
mistaken impression that a casual observation thrown
out by him in the early stages of hearing of a Court
action that, to his way of thinking, well settled legal
principles should not be lightly set aside, and that the
Constitution and Statutes which had been enacted for
the benefit of the public should, if possible, be made to
work, even if there were theoretical flaws in them, was
an intimation that a specific verdict had been prema-
turely reached. No doubt for counsel wrongly to deduce
such an indication during the opening of an appeal or
other law suit is a douche of cold water almost para-
lysing in effect. But this conviction, known to have been
held by Mr. Justice Lavery, is shared by many other
judges and lawyers, not all of whom are extremely
conservative in their attitudes; and obviously, it is an
aspect which must be seriously reckoned with before
embarking on the conduct of litigation. Moreover, the
reports of cases in which he was largely responsible for
the decisions, show that where there were valid grounds,
he was ready to overrule old Court Judgments and
legal provisions which were contrary to the good of the
community.
This Judge will live long in the memory of those
who knew him or saw him at work as one of the ablest
Counsel of his generation, and a very capable Judge
of the Irish Supreme Court.
International Bar Associatian:
(continued from p. 283)
International Business Lawyer
, the Journal of the Sec-
tion on Business Law.
The Directory of IBA members, first published in
1973, is being brought up to date with many amend-
ments and will be published in the Spring of 1975, and
the Directory of the Section on Business Law will also
Progress Report 7
be republished later in 1975.
The Section on Business Law has also published a
booklet on the Regulation of Trading by Insiders in
the U.S.A., England and Germany.
December 1974
Study Visits A broad by Lawyers from Member
States of the Council of Europe
Applications for study visits abroad to be forwarded
to the Secretariat of the Council of Europe should be
made to the Department of Justice, in principle before
the 31st October each year, but later applications will
be entertained. They can cover any aspect of law dealt
with by the Council of Europe. The applications are
open to academic lawyers, civil servants attached to the
Department of Justice, judges, and practising barristers
and solicitors. The Secretariat will transmit its com-
ments on the applications to the Department of Justice,
who have to approve the selected candidates. The
length of the visit to legal institutions on the Continent
will be at least one month. If the candidates are em-
ployed in Ireland, full facilities should be granted to
them by their employers. In principle, the State, where
the study is being carried out, will not bear any travel
costs or subsistence allowances, but applications for
financial assistance may be made to the Council of
Europe; this will normally cover travelling expenses by
air, and a nominal subsistence allowance. Every appli-
cant must send a report of his visit to the Secretariat in
Strasbourg, as well as to the Irish Department of Justice
Federal Economic Chamber of Vienna
The Federal Economic Chamber of Vienna has pub-
lished the Rules of Arbitration and of Conciliation of
its Arbitration Centre in English, French and German.
These are obtainable from the Secretariat of the
Economic Chamber, Stubenring 12, 1010 WIEN,
Austria.
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