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GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1991
direct writing captive is given one
licence for all lines of business for
which it has applied. If it wants to
add other lines at a future date, a
new application and authorisation
are necessary. Currently the
captives in the IFSC are writing
property, liability, marine, aviation,
motor, business i n t e r r up t i on,
transport, storage, fidelity and
extended warranty.
The solvency requirement is set
according to EC regulation which
requires approx ima t e ly a 4:1
premium to capital and surplus
ratio.
The level of guarantee funds, the
part of the solvency margin that
must remain in liquid form is also
set by EC Regulation and amounts
to 1/3 of the solvency margin
(subject to minimums of ECU
4 0 0 , 0 00 liability, credit and
suretyship, ECU 300,000 property
and f i nanc i al loss and ECU
200,000 miscellaneous property
and legal expenses).
The reporting requirements include
annual audited accounts and
unaudited interim reports during
start-up. An annual board meeting
in Ireland is required.
There is very little regulation of
reinsurance captives. The only
rules that apply now are that such
companies must notify the Minister
for Industry and Commerce in
advance of their intention to carry
on business, and to submit annual
audited accounts in summary
format. There is no maximum
premium to capital ratio (solvency
ratio) and no risk to capital ratio.
However, reinsurance companies
have been included in the EC's draft
directive on non-life insurance
companies, under which all pro-
cedures and forms will be stand-
ardised and will include information
on how assets are held, which is
not now part of their submission.
Conclusion
The establishment of the IFSC will
lead to a major expansion of the
incorporation of captive insurance
332
companies in Ireland. The attract-
ion has its foundation in the special
position accorded to Ireland by the
EC. The industry is bound by many
EC rules and standards. If EC
regulation is not strictly applied
Dublin may be viewed as having
foregone its right to special
treatment let alone an extension of
it. It is therefore of importance that
exact compliance is insisted upon.
1990 was another busy year for the
Law Reform Commission which has
just published its Twelfth Report
outlining its achievements during
that year and legislative action taken
on foot of its recommendations.
By 31 December, 1990, the
Commission had, since its inception
in 1977, formulated and submitted
to the Taoiseach and Attorney
General 34 Reports, 11 Working
Papers and 2 Consultation Papers.
The main features of the
Commission's work during 1990
were a report on Child Sexual Abuse
(LRC 33-1990), a Report on Sexual
Offences against the Mentally
Handicapped (LRC 33-1990), and a
report on Oath and Affirmations
(LRC 34-1990).
During 1990, a working group on
Conveyancing and Land Law con-
tinued its work on the identification
of anomalies in the law and
proposals for improvement, and a
report is due for publication later this
year (1991).
During the year the Commission also
examined and made recom-
mendations on the law of defama-
tion, criminal libel, and contempt of
court and this has resulted in the
recent publication of consultation
papers on these topics
(see also
page 319).
Work also continued on an
examination of the feasibility of
seizure of proceeds of crime (a
report was published in January,
The captive Insurance industry rep-
resents one of the major opportuni-
ties which has been presented to the
legal profession by the IFSC, indi-
cating the growth in importance of
the commercial sector.
* Muiris O'Ceidigh was awarded the
J.P. O'Reilly Memorial Scholarship in
Commercial Law by the Law Society
in October, 1990.
•
1991 (LRC 35-91); on the prepara-
tion of a discussion paper on the law
relating to larceny, fraud and other
offences contained in the Larceny
Act, .1916, and the preparation of a
discussion paper on the rule against
hearsay in criminal cases.
Family law has been the subject of
much examination by the Com-
mission (some 6 reports in all). In
1990 the Commission established
an ad-hoc advisory committee to
consider the question of the best
type of judicial or courts structure
appropriate to deal with the dif-
ferent matters which fall under the
general heading of family law, and
the work of this committee is
proceeding.
1990 saw many of the Commis-
sion's recommendations being
incorporated in legislation, most
notably the Criminal Law (Rape)
Amendment Act, 1990 which
implemented most of the Commis-
sion's recommendations in its
report on Rape and Allied Offences
(LRC 24-1988).
The Commission notes, however,
that the Larceny Act, 1990 differs
in many respects from the Commis-
sion's recommendations in regard
to handling unlawfully obtained
property (LRC 23-87).
Copies of the Twelfth Report are
available from the Law Reform
Commission, Ardilaun House, St.
Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. Price
£1.50.
•
1990 A Busy Year for
the Law Reform Commission