The Gazette 1977

GAZETTE

APRIL 1977

10. Appeals An appeal may be taken in respect of any Maintenance Order granted by the District Court to the Circuit Court and thence to the High Court in the normal way. On lodgment of the Notice of Appeal liability for payment of maintenance is suspended but if the higher Court grants the maintenance, arrears of payment will usually be granted back-dated to the lower Court Order. 11. Maintenance Agreements The maintenance clause to the normal separation Agreement has been discussed in the December Gazette. Where a Maintenance Agreement in writing is made after the 1976 Act, application may be made to the High Court or Circuit Court to have this made a rule of Court. Application is by Notice of Motion grounded on an Affidavit setting out the facts of the case and exhibiting the Agreement. If the Court thinks the Agreement is SPRING SEMINAR 1977 The Society's Spring Seminar will be held at the Mount Brandon Hotel, Tralee on 23rd and 24th April 1977. The Committee have chosen Employment and Labour Law and Practice as the principal topic. It appeared to us that Solicitors are getting an increasing number of queries both from employers and employees about their respective rights and obligations and that in view of the number of recent and proposed statutes it would be useful to hear about the workings of 'Industrial Tribunals'. Solicitors do not often appear before these but it can happen. Clients will also expect their solicitor to be able to inform them of the form which the hearing before such Tribunals will take even if they are not seeking representation. The important changes introduced by the 1976 Planning Act seem to merit a lecture. There will be three lectures pertaining to Employment and Labour Law and one on the 1976 Planning Act. As arranged these are:- (1) James O'Driscoll (Senior Counsel) The effect of Recent Case and Statute Law on the Common Law Employment/Employee relationship. (2) Ercus Stewart (Barrister-at-law) The Law and Practice of the Labour Court. (3) John Doherty (Divisional Director, F.U.E.) The Law and Practice of the Labour Court, Redundancy Appeals Tribunal and Rights Commissioner. (4) Richard Woulfe (Solicitor, Limerick Corporation) The Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1976. Detailed programmes and Application Forms have been circulated to all members of the Law Society. There will be reserved carriages in trains Dublin/Tralee/Dublin on Friday 22nd and Sunday 24th April.

reasonable it will deem it to be a Maintenance Order. This gives it the advantage of enforceability—where the Maintenance Agreement has an increase clause based on the cost of living you now have a Maintenance Order enforceable under the 1976 Act with automatic increases. There is no other provision in the 1976 Act for au t oma t ic i n c r e a se in Ma i n t e n a n ce Orders—application for increase is otherwise only possible by issuing a new Maintenance Summons. 12. Miscellaneous details to bear in mind (a) A spouse cannot contract out of his liability to pay maintenance. (b) Maintenance Orders can be discharged, varied or terminated on application to the Court — they will automatically be discharged where children become old enough to be no longer eligible. (c) Where an application under the 1886 Act fails, the matter is resjudicata and cannot be redecided in the light of the 1976 Act — see Downey v. Downey — (1943) I t ., J ut . Rep. 72. per Davitt J. (d) Where all else fails consider having the husband prosecuted under the Public Assistance Act 1939 as a vagrant for failure to maintain his wife and children. (e) If you are dealing with any maintenance proceedings it is very advisable to obtain a copy of the Maintenance of Spouses & Children Act 1976 Rules 1976 (Statutory Instrument No. 96 of 76) which details all of the procedures and the forms necessary under the Act. DO YOU KNOW THAT there is no obligation on the owner of a motor cycle to insure against damage sustained by a pillion passenger whilst travelling on the motor cycle. In fact, the Road Traffic (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1962 (S.l. No. 14 of 1962) includes the "Pillion passenger" as an "excepted person" for the purposes of Sections 56 and 65 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. Consequently, if a pillion passenger is injured due to the negligent driving of the owner of the motor cycle, he may never be compensated for his injuries if the owner of the motor cycle is a "bad mark". The Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland will not pay compensation on foot of the Judgement obtaining against the motor cycle owner, as the motor cycle owner has no ability to cover a pillion passenger by an approved Policy of Insurance. Furthermore, even if a motor cycle owner did wish to take out cover for his pillion passenger, he would find no insurance Company prepared to take on the risk at any price. THE HIGH COURT - PROBATE The overall size of all grants issuing from the PROBATE Office is being altered to the E.E.C. size, A. 4. (Approximately 8J" x 11J")- Accordingly, Engrossments of Wills lodged in the Probate Office on and from the 1st April 1977 must not exceed this size and must include within the overall measurement a margin of 1|" on the left- hand side of the Engrossment.

P. Waldron, Probate Officer.

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