331 / 406
GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1985
BOOK REVIEW
Law Reports of the Commonwealth — Constitutional &
Administrative Law Reports 1985. Professional Books Ltd.
1985. 1154pp. Stg.£47.50.
This initial volume of a new series of reports aims to
provide a selection of cases f r om a wide range of jurisdic-
tions within the British Commonwe a l t h. The editors
cannot be faulted for narrowness in their choice of juris-
disctions. Apart from the major countries there are cases
from such small jurisdiction as the Cook Islands,
Dominica and Nauru. In their Foreword the editors
indicate that their aim is " t o provide a law reporting
service to the Commonwe a l th legal service as a whole
(and to those in " f r a t e r n a l" jurisdictions such as the
United States, Ireland and Pakistan)". Is it to be
presumed that South Africa is too unpopular with the
majority of Commonwe a l th members to be even
mentioned? — though its lawyers might, more than most,
have the need to refer to decisions on the questions of
individual rights, judicial review of executive action,
detention and national security which are the subject of a
substantial number of cases contained in the reports.
The volume contains over 60 cases culled from
jurisdictions many of whose reports would not be readily
available for consultation by lawyers outside those
jurisdictions. The range of cases included in the volume is
wide indeed; the participation of the judiciary in the
disciplinary procedures of the New South Wales Bar;
Cr own and unity of a Ca n a d i an statutory corporation
f r om anti-trust legislation; the constitutional validity of
an executive decision of the Government of Papua New
Guinea to offer military and police assistance to the newly
independent state of Vanuatu; the validity of the disquali-
fication of candidates for the Presidency of India are but a
few examples.
The volume is not merely a compendium of fascinating
cases which encourages "dipping in" but a valuable
source of case law much of which might be relevant to
disputes in this jurisdiction.
This reviewer would not agree with the editor's order of
arrangement of the cases, deliberately not "by labelled
categories" but starting "with large constitutional issues"
and working downwards. It may well be that the use of
labelled categories would have proved arbitrary and
artificial as the authors suggest but surely not, as they
feared, unworkable. The order chosen by the authors is
inevitably subjective and in spite of the explanation
provided not necessarily one immediately understandable
to first time readers. This is the sort of project which
would encourage readers to suggest that as well as
continuing the series into the future that a retrospective
series of reports could well be of equal value.
•
J ohn F. Buckley.
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This collection of cases on Irish commercial law and
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