Previous Page  187 / 364 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 187 / 364 Next Page
Page Background

LEGAL DELAY AND LAW REFORM

The Minister for Justice has

recently been

active both in the Bail and in a recent address

to Tuairim at Limerick in answering suggestions

that there is unreasonable delay in Government

Departments under his control in the dispatch

of public business and on the general question of

law reform.

It

is common knowledge among

members of the solicitors profession that there is

serious and long standing delay in a number of

Government Departments particularly in the Land

Registry which is under the control of the De

partment of Justice. A member of the Society

recently wrote that he had achieved a new record

in reaching the' twelve months' anniversary of

lodgment of an application in the Land Registry

without any action on the part of the Department.

The dealing was still pending. Another member

informed the Society that he had threatened to

take legal action against the Department of Jus

tice and the Land Registry for failure to issue

a map having been informed by the officials that

there was little prospect of issuing it because of

shortage of staff. The result of

the solicitor's

letter was that the map was produced on the

following day. This must be one of hundreds

of cases

in which such delays occur and the

member who threatened legal action no doubt

had his case taken in special priority. The state

ment of these facts does not of course imply any-

adverse criticism of the officials of any of the

departments concerned who are making valiant

efforts to overcome staff shortages and other diffi

culties.

The Minister in reply to a question in Dail

Eireann on November 30th suggested that a sub

stantial part of the delay is due to defects in the

presentation of applications to the Registry. While

the Council do not claim that every application

presented is one hundred per cent in order and

that no queries can arise there is no justification

for

this suggestion either that the number of

defective applications are substantial or abnormal

or that they contribute in any significant way

to the serious state of public business due

to

understaffing in the Land Registry for which the

Minister and

the Department of Finance are

responsible. The matter has been the subject of

numerous communications from the Society to the

Department and the Registrar of Titles. No im

provement whatever has resulted in the general

position.

Again on November 30th

the Minister for

Justice stated in reply to a question asked by

Mr. Belton in Dail Eireann as

to

the reason

for delay in the Accountant's Office in the High

Court that there is no undue delay on the part

of the Accountant's Office adding that he was

informed that

such delays as do occur arise in

cases where documents arc incorrect or incom

plete.

On January 19th the Society wrote to the

Department of Justice stating that complaints

have been made by the profession during recent

years of delays in the Accountant's Office and

that they were concerned that such delays should

be attributed to default on the part of the pro

fession. The Department was asked

to supply

information as to the present state of arrears in

the Accountant's Office and for information as

to any defects in presentation of applications by

solicitors with details of a number of cases so

that the Society might take the matter up with

the solicitors concerned. The Department in their

reply, a copy of which is printed on page 82

mentioned a number of defects which occur in

applications for payment out of Court and which

cause delay in making payments.

The procedure for making a payment into the

High Court may be cited as one example as the

need for overhauling and simplifying the machin

ery in the Court Offices. There are six steps :

1.

Purchase of the form (3d.) at the nearest

post office. Unlike most Government offices

the necessary forms are not provided free

at the counter of the receiving office.

2.

The form must be

taken to

the Stamp

brought back to the Accountant's Office

and checked and then sent down to the

Office

in a different part of

the Four

Courts to be impressed with a 3/- stamp.

3.

The

stamped

form when

filled

up

is

Central Office on a different floor involving

a day's delay.

4. The form initialled by an official in the

Central Office is brought back to the Ac

countant's Office who issue what is known

as the Privity.

5.

The Privity with the defence and cheque

is brought to the Bank of Ireland College

Green, for lodgment.

6.

The defence impressed with 7/6d. stamp

duty

is

taken

to

the Central Office for

filing.

If Court procedure were designed on business

lines

the defence, notice of

lodgment with a

bank draft or guaranteed cheque would be sent

by post to the Central Office to carry out the

81