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AMBULANCE CHASING
THE Council propose to make the following regula
tions under section 71 of the Solicitors Act,
1954, prohibiting association between solicitors and
ambulance chasers. Any observations received from
members will be considered before the regulations
are made.
(1) A solicitor shall not join or act in association
with any organisation or person whose business or
any part of whose business is to make, support or
prosecute, whether by action or otherwise and
whether by a solicitor or agent or otherwise, any
claim arising as a result of death or personal injury
or damage to property, at common law or under any
statute, nor shall a solicitor act in respect of any such
claim for any client introduced to him by any such
organisation or person.
(2) A solicitor shall not with regard to any such
claim as
is mentioned in paragraph (i) of this
regulation knowingly act for any client introduced
or referred to him by any organisation or person
whose connection with such client arises from
solicitation in respect of the cause of any such claim.
(3) A solicitor shall not permit to be done on his
behalf by any person in connection with his practice
anything which if done by the solicitor himself
would be a breach of this regulation and it shall be
the duty of a solicitor before accepting instructions
in respect of any such claim to make reasonable
enquiries for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
acceptance of such instructions would be in contra
vention of this regulation.
PROBATE PRACTICE
THE rules of the High Court and Supreme Court,
1959 (S.I. 139/1959) are now on sale at the Govern
ment Publication Sales Office, G.P.O. Arcade,
Dublin, Price z/-. The Rules make provision for
procedure in the Probate Office and prescribe new
forms of administration bonds in certain cases.
LAND REGISTRATION FEES ORDER
1959
(S.I. 157 of 1959)
THE above order came into operation on the 3oth
September, 1959, and revokes the previous Land
Registration Fees Orders of 1944 and 1954. The
fee in respect of any transmission on death to a
person beneficially entitled of the property of a
person dying before
the
ist June 1959
is un
changed.
SOLICITORS AND AUCTIONEERS
REPRESENTATIONS were
received from
the Irish
Auctioneers and Estate Agents' Association on
the
subject of the making of valuations
by
solicitors for probate purposes.
The Association
consider that this is within the province of auctioneers
and valuers and that solicitors should not perform
this work. The Council in reply to the Association
stated that valuers are almost always employed
and that solicitors seldom make the valuation them
selves. There is of course no statutory provision
which would prevent them from 'doing so and
obviously the client is entitled if he wishes to make
his own valuation without reference to anybody
else and the solicitor could not legally or properly
prevent him from so doing. Whether such a valua
tion will be accepted is a matter for the Revenue
Commissioners. While the Council have no power
to prevent solicitors or their clients from acting in
accordance with the existing state of the law they
wish to inform members of the Society that the
making of valuations of real or leasehold property
for death duty purposes is not a normal function of
a solicitor and that in the opinion of the Council,
solicitors should not normally accept responsibility
for this work.
The Council have made representations to the
Irish Auctioneers and Estate Agents' Association
on the subject of the preparation by auctioneers and
estate agents of open contracts for the sale of
property.
MEDICO—LEGAL SOCIETY
THE first meeting of the Medico-Legal Society was
held in the Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dublin, on
Thursday, 29th October, 1959, at 8 p.m., when
Mr. Scan MacBride, S.C., read a paper on "The
doctrine of diminished responsibility in murder
cases." Mr. MacBride traced the history of this
doctrine in Scotland, where it applies to all criminal
cases, and strongly criticised the narrow construction
given by the English Court of Criminal Appeal since
the passing of the Homicide Act, 1957 ; he showed
that mental instability completely exonerated the
criminal from punishment arising from crime in
Belgium and Denmark. Mr. MacBride's paper gave
rise to a spirited discussion in which Judge Deale,
Mr. Joseph McCarthy, and Dr. McLoughlin took
part.
The next meeting of the Society will be held on
Thursday, 3rd December, 1959, in No. loFitzwilliam
Place, Dublin, when the Hon. Mr. Justice Cecil
Lavery will read a paper on " The Burroughs
and Welcome Case."
(This unreported case deals
with the death of a child arising from inoculation
in Ring, Co. Waterford.)
The following papers will be read in the Royal
Hibernian Hotel at the following meetings :—
Thursday, 28th January, 1960—Judge Kenneth
Deale on " Our Sluggish Law."
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