86 / 338
Notice of Appeal
to
the High Court
On a report from the Committee it was decided
to make an application to the Circuit Court Rules
Committee for an amendment to the rules which
will provide that service of notice of withdrawal of
an appeal will operate at a confirmation of the
original order without any formal application to or
attendance in the Court, with nominal costs if the
notice is lodged within a time to be prescribed, but
otherwise with full costs. The object of the pro
posed amendment is to afford the unsuccessful party
and his solicitor and counsel an opportunity of
preserving the right of appeal by serving notice
•while the matter is under consideration without
incurring serious costs provided that the appeal is
withdrawn within a time to be specified.
Estate Duty. Assessment of unquoted shares
in private companies
The Committee considered and approved
a
memorandum submitted by Mr. Overend following
an interview with the Estate Duty Office. The
memorandum which has been approved by the
Estate Duty Office should be of considerable assist
ance to practitioners and it is printed at page 83 of
this issue.
Sittings of the High Court on Circuit
The Council were informed of a resolution passed
by the Bar Council requesting the Judges to dis
continue the arrangements recently made to hold
sittings of the High Court on Circuit at equal half
yearly intervals in March and October and to revert
to March and July. It was decided to make represent
ations against this proposal on the grounds of the
inconvenience which would be caused to solicitors
and their clients in the country.
Undertaking by solicitor
Member acted for an injured workman in a Work
man's Compensation claim against an employer.
Member on the client's instructions requested the
Department of Social Welfare to advance insurance
benefit on his undertaking to refund the amount out
of any compensation which would be recovered on
the client's behalf. Benefit to the amount of
£12.0
was paid by the Department to the workman up to
the date of the award. Member received a lump sum
which was paid into court in the first instance as
the workman was not
sui juris
and subsequently
paid out to member. After the award of com
pensation the Minister for Social Welfare sued the
employer for the amount of benefit paid and the
action was dismissed.
The workman was not
represented nor was he a notice party to the pro
ceedings brought by the Minister. Member enquired
whether he was absolved from his undertaking as
the result of the abortive proceedings by the Minister
against the employer. On a report from a committee
the Council stated that on the facts before them the
solicitor gave an unqualified personal undertaking
to the Minister for Social Welfare on the client's
instructions and was bound by it.
Client's privilege against disclosure
A member acting for a client was requested to
make enquiries concerning the purchase of the
tenant's interest in certain property.
In the course
of the enquiry, member ascertained that there had
been litigation between the landlord and the tenant
and that the landlord had obtained a decree for
possession and had taken possession and that an
auctioneer who was endeavouring to sell the client's
interest had retaken possession. Member was sub
sequently requested by the solicitor acting for the
landlord to give evidence of these matters which
were communicated to him by the auctioneer acting
for the tenant in the course of negptiations for the
sale of the latter's interest. He enquired whether
any question of privilege arose as between himself
and his client, the potential purchaser. The Council
on a report from a Committee stated that the con
versation by member on behalf of his client with
the auctioneer was not a communication between
solicitor and client which would be the subject of
privilege.
If the conversation had been between
the client and the auctioneer the client could not
refuse to disclose it, and the solicitor who was only
the client's agent was in no better position than the
client.
Legal
representation of parties
to
inter'
national arbitrations
.
The Council were informed by the International
Bar Association of a report to be submitted to the
committee of Ministers by a sub-committee of the
Council of Europe recommending that a suggested
uniform code of procedure should contain provisions
whereby parties to international arbitrations should
not be entitled to be represented by counsel or
solicitors except by permission of the arbitrator or
by mutual consent of the parties.
It was decided
that representations should be made to the Depart
ment of External Affairs asking that the Government
should oppose these provisions.
Interviewing witness summoned by opponent
Members brought to the notice of the Council a
case in which a solicitor acting for a party in litigation