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GAZETTE

DECEMBER 1988

In

this

Issue

Viewpoint 315

Rights of an Agent to

Reimbursement and

Indemnity

317

For your Diary

321

Practice Notes 322

President's Column

323

Solicitors and VAT

325

Aids in the Workplace

327

Computers

- where to start

328

Law Society AGM 332

Disciplinary Committee

Annual Report

334

Law Society Submissions

on 1989 Budget

337

Correspondence 341 Book Review 343

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

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INCORPORATE

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LAWSOCIETY

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OF IRELAND

I f c l

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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