The Gazette 1958-61

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." 45