The Gazette 1978

GAZETTE

OCTOBER 1978

stage, and from now on, a sight of the C.R.V. before contract stage will be clearly

advisable.

17.11

Title Insurance:

The Committee discussed this matter with a representative of

the C.T.I.—Title Insurance Co. Ltd. Discussions with local insurance interests are

pending and thereafter a report with recommendations will be submitted to the Council.

17.12

Apart from the above-mentioned specific matters, the Committee dealt during

the year with many points in relation to practice aqd procedure. The Committee

welcomes comment from members on any practical or procedural points which they may

come across from time to time.

COSTS

COMMITTEE

WflUam A. Osborne

Chairman

Denis Bergbi

Thomas CaOan

Laurence CoDen

John H. DockreO

Domlnlek Kearna

William D. McEvoy

Gerald J. Moloney

Robert Plersc

John Rochford

Raymond Walker

18.1

The Committee met in January 1978 to review Report No. 66 of the National

Prices Commission and the action taken by the Minister for Industry, Commerce and

Energy thereon in reducing the 50% N.P.C. Recommendation in respect of Schedule II

costs to 40%. The Committee decided to make applications to the Court Rules

Committees and to the Chief Justice for:

(i) a 100% increase in Circuit Court Costs, as recommended by Professor Lees;

(ii) a 150% increase in District Court Costs; and

(iii) a 40% increase in Schedule II costs.

Subsequently, the Court Rules Committee agreed to the following adjustments.

(i) Superior Courts Rules 50%

(ii) Circuit Courts Rules

100%

(iii) District Court Rules

100%

(iv) Schedule II Costs

40%

The draft Orders were forwarded by the various Committees to the Minister for Justice.

In June 1978 they were referred back by his Department seeking clarification on various

matters.

18.2

In an effort to expedite a decision on what has now become a most involved and

ineffective process, the President wrote to the Minister for Justice on 30 November 1977,

16 February 1978, 15 and 26 May 1978, and again on 20 June 1978. Eventually

representatives of the Society discussed the problem with the Minister on 19 September

1978.

18.3

In the discussion the Society's representatives made the following points:

(a) General dissatisfaction with the cumbersome method of negotiating increases and the

need for a Standing Costs Committee.

(b) The absolute necessity to do something immediately to break the log jam on the

existing applications.

average" produce an increase of 50% as recommended by the N.P.C.

(d) The desirability of increasing

(i) Superior Court Costs by 50% at once;

(ii) District and Circuit Court Costs by at least 50% immediately with a further

review as soon as the jurisdictions in those Courts are increased.

(e) The absolute necessity to deal with conveyancing on a "market value" rather than

P.L.V. basis.

For his part the Minister made it clear that there could be no departure at this stage from

overall control by the Ministry for Industry, Commerce and Energy on the advice of the

N.P.C. Within that context, he could see the advantage of a Costs Committee. However,

this would require legislation. To overcome the present difficulty where the matter is

technically between the Rules Committees and the Minister, he suggested further discus-

sions with officers of his Department. These discussions were being put in hand at the

close of the year.

18.4

Notwithstanding that no final decision had been reached on the original

application in May 1975 an application for a further adjustment in costs to compensate

for increases in overheads since 1974 was made to the National Prices Commission in

March 1977 and followed up with a detailed submission and survey report by Coopers

and Lybrand in February 1978.

However, the Commission was not prepared to consider the application in the

form submitted. Following several discussions between the consultant to the Commission,

the Director General and Mr. B. Barry, Coopers and Lybrand, it was decided to make a

submission to the Commission dealing specifically with Court Costs and the fees specified

in Schedule II. This submission was made in September 1978.

170