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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
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