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GAZETTE
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
BOOK REVIEWS
DAVIES F.R. Contract. 3rd Edition. London: Sweet &
Maxwell, 1977. 233 pages. (Concise College Texts).
£2.50.
Mr. Davies is Senior Lecturer in Law in Brunei
University, London. The fact that three editions of this
work have been published in seven years speaks for itself.
As a concise text it undoubtedly covers accurately all the
important English decisions, even the most recent ones,
but an Irish student would also have to learn the more
important Irish cases.
The learned author sometimes reminds us of
conveyancing formulas, in as much as he stresses that the
phrase "subject to contract" has become a kind of magic
formula, and the consequent rule that neither party is
bound. He emphasises that the expressions "sufficient"
and "adequate" are not identical in the rule that
Consideration must be sufficient but need not be
adequate. The propositions of the House of Lords in the
Suisse Atlantique case
have always been troublesome to
define accurately, but the four propositions put forward
by the author on page 72 add clarity and precision to the
case. The great advantage of this text is its clarity. The
volume can be confidently recommended, particularly to
students who wish to obtain Honours standard, without
reading the more ponderous and well-known texts.
The Bar List of the United Kingdom 1977. 488 pages.
London: Stevens, 1977. £10.00.
The Bar List of the United Kingdom now replaces, as far
as Judges and Barristers are concerned what used to be
the annual "Law List", which appeared for the last time
in its present form in 1976. It is divided as follows:
Part I:
Courts and Offices (House of Lords, Privy
Council, Lord Chancellor's Office, Taxing Masters,
Chancery Offices, Family Registry, Admiralty,
Bankruptcy, Criminal Courts, Circuit Judges, Recorders,
Government Legal Service, Law and Public Offices,
Stipendianes, Coroners, Clerks to Justice, Notaries
Public.)
Part II:
Counsel (The Inns of Court, Council of Legal
Education, Queen's Counsel, Counsel's Chambers,
Advocates of the Scottish Bar, Counsel of Irish Bar who
are members of English Bar, English Barristers who are
experts in Foreign Law, List of Barristers on Circuit,
Detailed List of Barristers).
Part III:
Scotland (Court of Session, High Court of
Justiciary, Government Legal Service, Law and Public
Offices, Faculty of Advocates.)
Part IV:
Northern Ireland (Supreme Court, Queen's
Bench Division, Northern Ireland Bar.)
Part V:
Isle of Man (Courts, Advocates of Manx Bar.)
Part
VI:
I n t e rna t i onal ( Commo nwe a l th
Representatives, Foreign Consulates,, International
Court of Justice, Court of Justice of the European
Communities, International Section)
It will thus be seen that the material contained in this
volume is most useful and comprehensive. The Editorial
Staff of Messrs. Stevens are to be congratulated on the
patient and exacting work which they undertook in
ensuring accuracy in this volume.
SALMOND (Sir John) - The Law of Tort. 17th edition
by R.F.V. Heuston, D.C.L. 719 pages. London:
Sweet & Maxwell, 1977. Paperback, £8.50.
The renown of Sir John Salmond's famous work on the
Law of Torts has not diminished as Professor Heuston
has just edited the 17th edition. Professor Heuston is such
an eminent scholar in his own right that one would have
thought that he would have discarded in 1977 much of
Salmond's writing. Strange to relate, he has not done this
save where necessary. On the contrary Dr. Heuston
boasts that, as far as possible, he has left Salmond's text
of 1945 untouched. This reviewer would not agree that
such respect should be accorded to out of date legal
writers, however eminent. It would seem strange if a
modern author attempted to bring William's Law of Real
Property up to date, despite its excellence in its day.
The author's claim that there were an increased
number of references to cases and statutes in the Irish
Republic is doubtless justified, but, for clarity, it would
have been better if they had been separately indexed.
Unfortunately, the high price of printing has confined
mention to references only. It would have been invaluable
for us to have had Dr. Heuston's views on the more
important recent relevant Supreme Court decisions. It
need hardly be emphasised that all the recent English
decisions are listed in their place, and detailed notes are
given of all relevant books and articles. The cost of
production has made a charge of £8.50 plus V.A.T.
inevitable for a volume of altogether nearly 720 pages. All
the former good points of previous material, such as
clarity of style and lay-out, are intensified in this edition.
Salmond must thus remain the constant companion of all
practitioners with problems in the law of Torts, for many
years to come.
Foundation to promote the study
of Maritime Law
The Irish Maritime Law Association has received a
notice from the Comité Maritime International of the es-
tablishment, in March, 1977, of the Albert Lilar Founda-
tion aiming to promote the study of maritime law. Baron
Albert Lilar was President of the Comité Maritime Inter-
national for 29 years, and during his term of office con-
tributed greatly to the unification of Maritime Law.
Article 10 of the Foundation's Constitution provides
as follows:—
"The allocation of the revenue of the Fund will be
determined by the Board of directors. A prize will be
awarded from the revenue every three years to a scientific
study, published anywhere in the world, which the Board
considers will contribute to the unification of Maritime
Law and the study of comparative maritime law. The
Board will determine the procedure for the allocation of
the prize and the amount thereof."
The prize is expected to be in the region of 5,500 U.S.
Dollars.
Anyone interested in the Foundation should contact
the Irish Maritime Law Association, Merrion Hall,
Strand Road, Dublin 4.
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