The Gazette 1973

Law. Like Professors Brown and Garner, this reviewer is absolutely convinced of the great superiority of French Administrative Law as rendered by that elite body, the Conseil d'Etat. One of the grave defects of the Irish Constitution is that Article 37 only provides for temporary administrative tribunals, and that all other decisions must be made by one of the Courts established by the Constitution. This in effect means that no effective permanent administrative tribunal, save with very limited power can ever be established in Ireland, and that the ordinary tribunals can never be manned by specialist lawyers trained in administrative law and procedure. The resulting administrative de- cisions given by ordinary Courts in Ireland can only be unsatisfactory, as they are not given an opportunity to probe the full facts, but only the facts in files which the Department concerned wishes to impart to them and this in the skimpiest way possible. The Courts have been slow until recently to reject inadequate privilege claims which the State has endeavoured to sustain on the slimmest evidence. Without going into detail, one can but agree with the learned authors that the French administrative system is infinitely superior to the Irish one, inasmuch as (1) the judges of the French Court have an administrative expertise second to none. (2)~ The remedies available are simple and not deliberately complicated and complex like certiorari and man- damus. (3) All the documents are in writing, and this permits an intimate dialogue between the court and the administration; the loose limits of oral evidence are rejected. (4) The Court can probe with profound depth into all administrative action; and the narrow limitations of Irish law do not apply. With the expert assistance of Madame Questiaux, who is so helpful to all English speaking visitors of the Gonseil d'Etat, the learned authors have set out the procedure of the Conseil d'Etat in such a lucid and clear manner that the complexities appear simple; it is only by attending in practice a séance d'instruction or a séance de jugement that a foreign lawyer can appre- ciate how such an intricate law is rendered simple by experts. No useful purpose can be served by going into the intricacies of the procedure save to state that the learned authors have mastered it, and have made it appear easy—further study would soon dispel this idea. Our Library is the only one in Ireland where such a study could be undertaken, as it contains a summary of the more important decisions of the Gonseil d'Etat in the last few years. We are deeply indebted to Pro- fessors Brown and Garner for having enlightened us on a most complex subject. This will remain the essential introductory book to the study of French Administra- tive Law in English in the foreseeable future. Bailey (S. J.) —The Law of Wills including Intestacy and Administration of Assets. Seventh edition; 8vo; pp. lxxiii plus 384; London, Pitman, 1973. The fact that the learned author who is a Professor of English Law in Cambridge University, has produced seven editions of his work in forty years speaks for itself. From the first, the manner in which the material was presented has appealed to students throughout, and, the book is well known to our students, as it has been on the Law Society course for a long time. Apart from the law of wills the volume contains chapters on the equitable doctrines of conversion and secret trusts and election, on conditions precedent and subsequent, and on the various rules relating to future interests, such as Whitby v. Mitchell, which are so well covered

in Mr. Justice Megarry's Manual of Real Property. An interesting modern decision considered is Edmondson's Will Trusts—( 1971) 1 W.L.R.—in which the rule in Andrews v. Partington (1791) was applied. In the case of Bravda —(1968) W.L.R., two daughter beneficiaries, who attested the will, as well as the attesting witnesses, got nothing. In Re Horgan, decd.—( 1970) 2 W.L.R.— Latey, J., held the following clause in a will valid— that the firm might act through any of its partners or their successors in business at the date of my death not exceeding two in number. These few examples will demonstrate that the learned author has taken full cognizance of all recent decisions. These learned authors, Professor Smith of Nottingham and Professor Hogan of Leeds, have published no less than three editions in sixteen years, and the material between 1957 and 1973 has increased by 70 pages. Smith and Hogan has established itself as the leading modern textbook in criminal law, not merely on account of the complete accuracy of the material, but also the illuminating comments made by the learned authors on various points of criminal law arising from the cases. For instance at page 159, in referring to Buckove v. L.C.E. —(1971) 1 Ch—where apparently Lord Denn- ing accepted the view that a driver, stopped by a red light at a cross roads, and seeing a blazing house 200 yards in front of him would have committed an offence if he had crossed at the red lights on the ground of necessity to help but added : "Nevertheless such a man had he done so, should not be prosecuted. He should be congratulated". The learned authors remark con- cisely : "It is odd to see the Master of the Rolls finding a breach of the criminal law a case for congratulation". As to differences between the Larceny Act 1916 and the Theft Act 1968 the learned authors state at page 396 : "In practice the Larceny Act 1916 was construed on the tacit assumption that there was no intention to alter the previous law, and the earlier case law lost little authority. Such an approach to the Theft Act 1968 would be wholly wrong." Practitioners are con- sequently warned that they should skip the section dealing with that Act. However Smith and Hogan has maintained its lead as the pre-eminent textbook on Criminal Law, and Irish practitioners who study it will soon master that difficult subject provided they read references to English statutes since 1922 with care. Baxter (J. W.)—World Patent Law and Practice. Second edition; 8vo; pp. xiv plus 455; London, Sweet & Maxwell, 1973; £6.80. The learned author, who is Legal Adviser to the Patents Section of Imperial Chenical Industries, had already published a first edition of this work in 1968. It sets out detailed patent requirements and practices in all parts of the world, and questions such a s: who should make the application for a license in Brazil, when documents are required in New Zealand? how to oppose an application for a license in France; what is the conception of novelty in Ireland? the different time limits set, the rules relating to renewal fees, mem- bers recognising the International Patent Conventions of Lisbon in 1958 and of Stockholm in 1967—are 203 Smith (J. C.), and Brian Hogán—Criminal Law, Third edition; 8vo; pp. xciii plus 678; London, Butterworth, 1973; £4.60 (paperback).