The Gazette 1972

BOOK REVIEWS Labour and the Law by Kahn Freund (Otto); Hamlyn Trust Lecture no. 24; London, Stevens, 1972; 8vo; pp. xii plus 270; Paperback, £ 1.80. Dr. Kahn Freund is a well known expert on trade union law; he naturally praises an allegedly orderly system of labour relations in Britain as an achievement, and criticises the common law for not balancing collec– tive forces. He contends that, as Labour Law is the basis on which most earn their living, every lawyer should master its principles; he points out that almost everywhere this law depends essentially on the union– in othc:r words the power of management is co-ordin– ated with that of organised labour, yet they have a divergency of interest. Yet the purpose of Labour Law is to regulate and restrain management as much as labour. It is stressed that the purpose of regulatory legislation is to curb management. The rules of employ– ment thus become a complex variable amalgam of legislation and of collective agreements. Collective bargaining from the management viewpoint will prevent interruption of work, and from a labour viewpoint will ensure that jobs will be secure and wages satis– factory; the dynamic method consists in instituting a joint industrial council. The common law and indus– trial law endeavour to propound ad hoc solutions; then there are numerous unwritten trade practices. In Britain, management is often represented by an em– ployer's association, which produces a complex struc– ture of bargaining levels. These are some of the points which Dr. Kahn Freund stresses in the Hamlyn lec– tures; all his points are illustrated by useful examples and deserve careful study by those who will specialise in industrial relations. European Community Treatie::, including the (British) European Communities Act 1972 edited by Sweet & Maxwell's Legal Editorial Staff; London, Sweet & Max– well, 1972; Paperback, £2.85. This is a very useful volume giving the English Lan– guage texts of: (1) The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community; (2) The Proto– cols (a) on the Statute of the Court of Justice of April Europe (1951). (3) The Convention on the Transi– tional Provisions (April 1951); (4) The Treaty of Rome establishing the European Community and Protocols annexed; (5) Implementing Convention on the Association of Overseas Countries and Territories with the Community (March 1957); (6) Convention on Certain Institutions common to the European Com– munities (March 1957); (7) Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the Communities (March 1957); (8) Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energ):, Committ~e; (9) Treaty establishing a single CouncIl and a smgle Commission; (10) Protocol on Privileges and. ~mmunities; (11) Treaty establishing Budgetary ProvlSlons; (12) Treaty concerning Accession of Denmark, Ireland, Norway and United Kingdom ---:-and Act concernipg conditions of Accession; (13) Fmal Act ~f Acces.sI.on of January 1972; (14) British European COmmUnitIes Act 1972.

Dr. K. Simmonds, director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, as Advisory Editor to Sweet & Maxwell's Legal Staff, has ensured that all the texts are accurate, and shown us the vast extent of' European Community primary law to be derived in one volume. This volume is essential to all practitioners who will be dealing with all aspects of commercial law which will be affected by European Community Law. Principles of Labour Law by Roger W. Rideout; London, Sweet & Maxwell, 1972; 8vo; pp. xxxi plus 442; Paperback, £3.50. Dr. Rideout, reader in English Law at University Col– lege, London, has written a most interesting book on Labour Law. In part 1 he deals with the contract of labour, which includes such items as (1) the form of the contract of services, (2) the batgaining procedure and machinery, (3) the effect of the collective agree– ment on the contract of employment, (4) the terms implied by common law (willingness to serve, obedience, reasonable care, respect of trade secrets), (5) termina– tion of the contract by notice, frustration, death, or rescission for breach of contract, (6) remedies for dis– missal, (7) discrimination in employment, (8.1 statu– tory control of wages and .hours of work, and (9) redundancy. Part 2 deals with Employers liability in– cluding Vicarious Liability and Industrial Safety Legis– lation. Part 3 deals with National Insurance relating to Unemployment, Sickness and Industrial Injuries. Part 4 deals with Industrial Organisations such as Trade Unions, Rights of Members, The Common Law relating to Industrial Disputes including intimidati••n and conspiracy, unfair industrial practices by workers and employers, and finally emergency provisions. In the chapter on "Admission to Membership", such up to date English cases as Edwards v. Graphical S ociety-– (1971) Ch 354 and Faramus v. Film Artistes Associa– tion-( 1964) AC 925 are fully described and criticised. A glance through the index has failed to elicit any reference to any Irish case, save a note reference to Ferguson v. O'Gorman-(1937) IR 670, and to Hynes v. Conlon (1929). If this book is to be of use to Iri~h practitioners in the future, it would be necessary for the learned author or an assistant to set out separately in .. an appendix, all the important Irish cases since 1922. On account of its primary constitutional impor– tance, one would have expected an elaborate dis– cussion of Educational Co. v. Fitzp'atrick (No. 2)– (1963) IR and some account of E.I. Co. v. Kennedy– (1968) IR. The learned author in this erudite work has managed to mention practically all English re– ported cases on the subject, important and otherwise, which entailed countless research and trouble. If he had been more selective, he would have doubtless ex– posed himself to the criticism of his colleagues, but it would seem justifiably so. This is by far the best volume on labour law that has yet appeared, and can be recommended without qualification to practitioners who specialise in this important branch of law.

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