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G A Z E T TE
J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A RY 1985
BOOK REVIEWS
Irish Current Law Statutes Annotated — Sweet & Maxwell
1984. Loose-Leaf. £150 Stg. (with full service to include all
1984 Acts issued).
The publication of Irish Current Law Statutes
Annotated is a most welcome venture which if the high
standard of its UK equivalent is maintained would be of
enormous assistance to the profession in Ireland. The way
in which Irish legislation is amended piece-meal, often in
legislation whose title bears little relation to the title borne
by the original Act creates serious dangers for practi-
tioners. The recent amendment for the second time of the
1977 Planning Regulations which were supposed to be
comprehensive has made the ascertainment of the Law in
this area which affects every property in the State
extremely difficult. This is a fairly typical example of the
problems which face the practitioner.
The first portion of the first volume for 1984 contains
10 Public General Acts. Of these the Landlord and
Tenant (Amendment) Act 1984 and the sections of the
Finance Act 1984 making changes in capital taxation
legislation are those likely to be of greatest concern to
practitioners. It is therefore disappointing to find that
some criticism must be offered of the notes which have
been provided for the Legislation. In the case of the Land-
lord & Tenant Act the criticism is somewhat of a minor
nature in that the author is perhaps too kind in some of his
comments on the legislation, particularly where he
describes as "improvements" what are in fact remedial
amendments made necessary by failure to plan the
original Bill properly.
More serious criticism arises in relation to the Finance
Act where the example given at Page 9-103 Paragraph 3 of
the Section dealing with Capital Acquisitions Tax could
be regarded as misleading. Certainly the example
illustrated does not avoid ambiguity. Admittedly this is a
particularly difficult area of the Law but it is one where an
error in conveying information to practitioners could
have very serious results.
The work, which is in loose-leaf form gives the
complete text of the Act with a general introductory note
and section by section comments on the most important
Acts. It is intended that as Legislation is interpreted the
service will be updated by amended annotations.
In spite of the minor reservations expressed above a
warm welcome should be given to the project by
practitioners.
•
John F. Buckley
The Limitation of Actions in the Republic of Ireland by
James C. Brady and Tony Kerr. The Incorporated Law
Society of Ireland, 1984. Price £10.00.
This is a most useful little book and, as Mr. Justice
Henchy says in his Foreword, it fills a long-felt want.
Once again, the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland are
to be congratulated on their enterprise. How much the
Irish legal community owes to the energy of the Society's
Publications Committee over the past 15 years!
The law of limitation of actions is, of course, statute-
based and most of the book concentrates on the
provisions of the Statute of Limitations, 1957 (the text of
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(DDE.) 165
which is reproduced as subsequently amended at the end
of the Book). The authors have obviously dealt with the
not inconsiderable case-law on that Statute, but they have
also, to their credit, drawn on comparative material from
other parts of the world, particularly the U.K., Canada,
Australia and New Zealand.
Controversial issues are discussed in some detail, e.g.,
the "latent damage" muddle which has caused so much
trouble in various parts of the world. A most interesting
chapter on the relationship between equitable jurisdiction
and lapse of time has been included. A reading of these
parts of the book makes one appreciate how much the
authors have packed into 124 pages of text.
The authors have also found room to draw attention to
difficult points. Thus they refer their readers to Kenny J.'s
linking of the doctrine of equitable estoppel and adverse
possession in
Cullcn
-v-
Cullen
[1962] I.R. 268, a link that
was adopted subsequently by Finlay P. in
McMahon -
vKerry County Council
[1981 ] l.L.R.M. 419. One suspects
that the authors would have liked to pursue what they
refer to as the "many interesting questions which arise,"
but they were obviously circumscribed by the limitations
of space.
In summary, the book should be welcomed as a
splendid addition to the expanding legal literature of
Ireland. It contains the usual reference tables and a good
index.
J.C.W. Wylie
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