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The Chairman read a charming letter from Chief
Justice Maguire regretting his inability to speak due
to illness. The Chief Justice dwelt on the time when
he himself was auditor of the Society, and on the
part played by the profession in the foundation of
the State.
Mr. James Napier, President of the Incorporated
Law Society of Northern Ireland, who was the first
speaker, referred to the good relations which had
always existed between his Society and its counter
part in Dublin, and described recent legal develop
ments in the North. Mr. Arthur Cox followed with
a delightful reminiscing speech in which he recalled
his own days as auditor, when the Society boasted
such personalities as Chief Justice Maguire, and the
late Judge Roe, Scan O h-Uadhaigh, and Ambrose
Davoren. Mr. Eoin O'Mahony, barrister-at-law,
drew from his vast fund of stories about lawyers
past and present, and prophesied that the unification
of the two branches of the legal profession was
something which the present generation would see
coming to pass.
In his closing remarks the Chairman paid tribute
to the work of the Society and spoke of the part
played by the Law Societies both in Dublin and in
Belfast.
The Meeting was preceded by a very pleasant
reception in the Council Chamber, organised by
William and Mrs. O'Reilly with the help of the
lady members of the Society and the office staff.
UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS IN
FRANCE
FIVE scholarships open to students of any faculty
are offered by the French Government for the
University year 1959-60. Further particulars can be
obtained
from
the University Registrar or the
French Embassy, 53 Ailesbury Road, Dublin.
THE ROLE OF THE LAWYER IN
PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW
By Ross L. Malone—President
of the American
Bar Association
"
LAW did not have its inception in the mind of
man, even though law, as we usually think of that
term, refers to man-made laws enacted by legislative
bodies, and the Common Law as declared by the
Courts. These are merely the means by which the
law of God is made effective ;
the means by which
it is applied to the conduct of man. They are com
parable to the portion of a tree which is above
ground and apparent to the eyes of an observer.
As in the case of the tree however, it is the roots
from which it draws its strength. The law, to be
effective, must be rooted deep in the Divine Will,
in the immutable rules of the Natural Law of God.
Man-made law which is contrary to, or not supported
by, the law of God will as surely wither and die as
the tree which is not supported by a root structure.
Law, essentially, is the body of rules which govern
the conduct of human beings. The Rule of Law
makes those rules paramount to the will of any
individual, or group of individuals, regardless of
how powerful the individual or how large the group.
It is the antithesis of the concept that " Might is
Right." It is inherent in the Rule of Law that all
men are equally subject to the law, and that no man
or group of men shall place themselves above it.
Implicit in the Rule of law is the sanctity of the
individual and the protection of his rights against
any person or group of persons who infringes upon
them. This protection extends as well to actions
by persons exercising the power of government, as
to
those acting individually.
As Amoury de
Aiencourt said in his book,
The Coming Caesars.
"
freedom of the individual from arbitrary tyranny
and the paramountcy of the law are inseparable."
The Rule of Law is a concept which has existed
since Moses received the Teh Commandments upon
Mount Sinai.
It has survived autocracy, anarchy,
tyranny and demagogism, and has come to its
highest state of development in the Democracy of
the twentieth century. And what of the role of
lawyers in the Rule of Law ?
Lawyers are the
ministers of justice.
(Extract from the American Bar Association Journal,
March,
1959,
page
242).
" Attorneys are ministers of justice as well as
courts, and justice will not be contented with half
hearted service on the part of her ministers."
(Dictum of Judge Winslow of Wisconsin in
"Young
v.
Murphy,"—1903,
cited in Drinker,, Legal Ethics,
at page
91).
OBITUARY
MR. SEPTIMUS D. Lambert, Solicitor, died on the
2ist April, 1959, at his residence, 7 Leeson Park,
Dublin.
Mr. Lambert served his apprenticeship with the
late Mr. Charles H. Chaytor, 12 Molesworth Street,
Dublin ; was admitted in Hilary Sittings 1904 and
practised at 7 Leeson Park, Dublin.
REGISTRATION OF TITLE ACTS,
1891 AND 1942
Issue of Duplicate Certificates
APPLICATIONS have been received from the registered
owners mentioned in the Schedule annexed hereto,
for the issue of Certificates of Title in substitution
for the original Certificates issued in respect of the
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