The Gazette 1977

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 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. The Bar List of the United Kingdom 1977. 488 pages. London: Stevens, 1977. £10.00.

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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