The Gazette 1967/71

MISCELLANEOUS LEGAL NEWS

NEWS OF THE MONTH We were sorry to learn of the death of two eminent parliamentarians recently. Senator Owen Sheehy Skeffington, Reader in French, Trinity College, must be remembered by his transparent honesty and his undoubted sincerity in espousing unpopular causes; his charm overcame any oppo sition that his somewhat unorthodox views might sometimes provoke. Patrick O'Donnell, one of our recent past presi dents, was at all times genial and his ease of manner and quiet efficiency had unavoidably ensured that he had built up a magnificent prac tice extending from Sligo to Malin Head. He declined to indulge in personalities in the Da.il, and was consequently immensely popular with all. To their relatives, we extend our sincere sympathy. third course on Law Librarianship organised by the International Association of Law Libraries, in Heidelberg from 7 to 10 September 1970, was Mr. Gavan Duffy. This very thorough course covering the legal bibliography of Germany, Aus tria, and Switzerland was directed by Dr. Steiner, librarian of the Max Plank Institute for Compara tive Public Law and International Law, Heidel berg, and given by experts in German. A visit was paid to the premises of the German Supreme Court and of the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Amongst the forty who attended the international Legal Conference on the European Communities was held under the auspices of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in the Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dublin, from 2 to 4 October 1970. Great praise is due to the organ ising committee, who not only attracted nearly 200 eminent legal experts from the six Common Market countries, as well as from the four Appli cant Countries (Britain, Denmark, Ireland and Norway), but also from the Common Market headquarters in Brussels. The social functions included a reception in Iveas;h House, given bv the Minister for Justice, a dinner in the King'; Inns given jointly by our Society and the Bai Council, and a banquet given by the British Insti­ the Expansion of An

tute at the Hibernian Hotel, at which Lord Denning, in proposing the toast of "Our Guests", and the Chief Justice, in replying thereto, made memorable speeches. LEGAL AID AND THE BAR At a general meeting held on 13 February 1970 the Bar resolved to withdraw from the State legal aid scheme. In pursuance of that resolution all except two members have had their names re moved from the list kept by the Minister. As a corollary to that resolution, it was ruled that no counsel might accept instructions from a solicitor who had been assigned under the Department's scheme. In order to alleviate hardship, the Bar Council ruled on 19 March 1970 that where an accused person was held in custody counsel might accept instructions from a solicitor assigned under the Department's scheme. The position in relation to the Department's legal aid scheme is therefore that no counsel may act for a person granted aid under that scheme unless that person is in custody. At the time of the withdrawal from the Depart ment's scheme, the Bar decided to operate its own free legal aid service. A panel of twenty senior counsel and forty-six juniors is in existence of counsel who are prepared to offer their services to impecunious accused persons without fee, pro vided that person has not been assigned aid under the Department's scheme. The list of names of those on the panel has been supplied to the Secretary of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland. In order that the burden of operating this free scheme may be fairly distributed, applications for counsel to be assigned from the panel should be made to : G. D. Coyle, Secretary, Bar Council, Law Library, Four Courts, Dublin 7. Applications should state the nature of the case, and, if known, the venue of hearing and the likely duration. CORRESPONDENCE A Career at the Bar Sir—Members of the Society have read with amazement the 'Guide to Careers' which appeared in your edition of July 8. The part dealing with the work and earnings of an Irish barrister is, in our belief, so incomplete and inaccurate that it must grossly mislead any young person contem plating entering the profession. To redress the