The Gazette 1972

BOOK REVIEWS European Business Law by G. A. Zaphiriou, LL.M. (Lond.); Sweet & Maxwell, London, 1970; 8vo.; £3.75. T he compulsory approximation of some business laws within the framework of the European Community entitles the author to call this book " European Business Law". The work deals with a variety of legal rules irrespec- tive of their nature. They include those which relate to contract and tort, private and administrative law, and rules which fall within the sphere of internal, community and international law. The connection is not systematic but organic, as they all relate to business and trading in Europe. The author does not confine himself to the broad expanse of European business law so called, but also includes references to the impact and cross-fertilisation °f other European legal entities, such as Ctomecon. Amongst the various jurisdictions other than those of the EEC countries drawn upon for material are Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Roumania, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. The breadth of the writer's learning is im- pressive, particularly when one considers that he has covered all this ground in the short space of only 264 Pages. However, in order to keep the book as close to practical realities as possible, its scope is inevitably limited to general principles affecting business enter- prises trading with or within the European Community. This must of course limit its usefulness to the practi- tioner. An interesting feature is that material updating this book will be published regularly in the Journal of Business Law, in a section entitled European Business Law, of which Mr. Zaphiriou is Co-Editor. Unfortunately, many of the topics covered, e.g., the taxation of enterprises, or anti-trust law, are by nature not interesting reading and the writer's style does not help. The book is quite boring to read. This small criticism alone should not deter anyone With an interest in the EEC from investing in a copy. Indeed, the preliminary chapters provide an excellent introduction to the law of the EEC generally for those who have little knowledge of the Community's legal structure. GRAHAM GOLDING J. Charlesworth: The Law of Negligence (fifth edition) by R. A. Percy; Sweet & Maxwell, London, 1971; 8vo, pp. cii+802; £9.50. 9 r - Charlesworth, who was a County Court Judge, is rightly known for his learned work on the law and principles of negligence. The first edition was published m 1938, and contained 576 pages including a compre- hensive index of more than thirty pages. Dr. Charles- worth subsequently edited the second edition in 1947 a nd the third edition in 1956. Mr. Percy, the present e ditor, took over the editorship of the fourth edition in 1962, when this famous book became part of Sweet & Maxwell's well-known Common Law Library. This fourth edition had been extended to 666 pages, including 642 of text. In the intervening years, no less than seven cumulative supplements had appeared.

It was thus time for Mr. Percy to prepare a new edition, a task which he has most successfully accom- plished. There have inevitably been so many inter- vening developments in the law of negligence that it has been necessary to extend the text to 802 pages, including 780 pages of text. If one compares the 1938 chapter headings with the 1971 chapter headings, one will find that headings such as "Causation and Remoteness of Damage"; "Persons Professing some Special Skill"; "Parties to the Action and Vicarious Liability"; appear as new. On the other hand, such matters as gas, electricity, explosives, and poison together with nuclear installations, are now inserted amongst "Dangerous Things". Lord Camp- bell's Act has naturally become the "Fatal Accidents Act". "Negligence Committed Abroad" is specially covered. The net effect is that the original thirty chap- ters are reduced in a more orderly way to nineteen, of which no less than ten have required substantial re- organisation. A very convenient method of having paragraph num- bers at the beginning of each heading has been success- fully maintained. Mr. Percy is to be congratulated on achieving a task which would have seemed well-nigh insuperable save to an expert in his chosen subject; unfortunately a spot check in the index of cases appears to reveal that he has not taken cognisance of some of our vital Irish Supreme Court decisions, nor does there appear to be any mention of the vital Civil Liability Act, 1961. If future editions are to be useful to Irish practitioners, it is vital for Mr. Percy to realise that this is a grave lacuna. However, on the whole English law is sufficiently close to Irish law now for one to be in a position to recommend whole-heartedly this valuable textbook. The printing is, as usual, excellent, and, as the work contains more than 900 pages, the price is not unduly high. CGD Lindley (Hon. Nathaniel): The Law of Partnership (thirteenth edition) by Ernest H. Scammell; Sweet & Maxwell, London, 1971; 8vo; pp. cliii+950; £15. The Hon. Nathaniel Lindley, subsequently Master of the Rolls and Law Lord, published the first edition of his famous work on partnership, as long ago as 1860. The Partnership Act, 1890, and the Limited Partner- ship Act, 1907, had been so well drafted, that, despite many subsequent changes in other aspects of law, they have remained substantially unaltered and authorita- tive to the present day. Lord Lindley published the first five editions of this work up to 1893, the next five editions up to 1935 were published by his son, Judge Lindley. Mr. Salt, K.C., published the eleventh edition in 1950, while the present editor, Mr. Ernest Scammell, is responsible for the twelfth edition, 1962, as well as the present one. Mr. Scammell must be congratulated upon being able to incorporate all modern decisions, and yet managing to reduce the volume by some 300 pages. The eighth edition, published by Judge Lindley in 1912, contained a text of 1015 pages and a minutely prepared index of more than 200 pages, which is a masterpiece in the art of indexing. Contd. on page 24 23