The Gazette 1973

EDITORIAL Administrative Justice Professor Carleton Allen, in his famous work, Law and Orders, has written a celebrated chapter on "The Public and the Executive" in which the role of the civil servant is examined. It is therein asserted that bureaucracy means government by highly-established administrators. The danger of bureaucrats exceeding their powers has since 1854 when the system was established, always existed in Britain. There have been about twelve Royal Commissions to examine the British Civil Service which we inherited. In theory the administrators consist of an elite who advise Ministers and are deemed to be the rigorous guardians of tradition and precedent. Appoint- ments to this grade in theory are made in Ireland by an Interview Board on the recommendations of the Civil Service Commission, but the fact that many members of Interview Boards have resigned on the ground that their recommendations have not been adhered to, would appear to suggest that the alleged knowledge of Irish can be juggled to suit requirements. The decision of the Commissioners cannot be challenged, as they shelter behind privilege : in France, candidates who fail to obtain a government or university post, or those dis- satisfied with planning appeals, can dispute the deci- sion before the Conseil d'Etat. When appointed, the administrator is expected to give loyalty and discretion to the State. Cynics consider that the alleged benefits of the non-professional civil servant only exist inas- much as defects are easy to hide; the main defects are over-devotion to precedent, anonymity, inaccessibility, lack of initiative and unwillingness to take responsi- bil ity. Red tape requires that everything must be

reduced to rule and uniformity, whereas experience shows no two cases are exactly alike. There is also a tendency to swell bureaucracy which is wasteful, and then one may wait months for important decisions. But perhaps the greatest criticism is the striving for direct, though largely anonymous, personal power. As Lord Hewitt has said : There is in existence a persistent and well-contrived system intended to pro- duce, and in practice producing, a despotic power which at one and the same time places government depart- ments above the sovereignty of the Constitution and of Parliament, and beyond the jurisdiction of the Courts. But it is here that where the professional civil servants —lawyers, doctors, engineers and architects—unlike their lay colleagues can express more freely their opinions in rendering a genuine professional service to the public. Much has been written about possible im- provements in the system, but there is little doubt that if any progress is to be made, it will be necessary to establish an administrative tribunal consisting of law- yers and legally trained administrators who would be in a position to review and consider seriously the objec- tions of the humble citizen without recourse to involved and expensive legal procedure; the fame of the French Conseil d'Etat in the impartial determination of admin- istrative problems, should ensure the future success of such a tribunal in Ireland, if a similar simplified proce- dure were adopted here. The difficulty is that, it would seem to be necessary for such a permanent Court to be deemed to be a division of the High Court in order to conform with the Constitution.

THE SOCIETY Proceedings of the Council

FLAC It was decided to refund to the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association the sum of £100 donated to FLAC. Hotel licences and bar licences Representations have been made by the Council to the Revenue Commissioners about the form of hotel licences which are identical in appearance with the ordinary public house seven-day licence. In a letter dated 16th August 1972 the Revenue Commissioners stated that it is proposed to include in the next reprint of the licence form a statement to the effect that the 52

January 11th, 1973. The President in the chair, also present Messrs W. B. Allen, Bruce St. J. Blake, John F. Buckley, Anthony E. Collins, Laurence Cullen, Gerard M. Doyle, James R. C. Green, Christopher Hogan, Michael P. Houlihan, Thomas Jackson, John B. jermyn, Francis J .Lanigan, Patrick C. Moore, Patrick McEntee, Brendan A. McGrath, Senator J. J. Nash, John C. O'Carroll, Peter E. O'Connell, Rory O'Connor, Thomas V. O'Connor, James W. O'Donovan, William A. Osborne, Peter D. M. Prentice, Mrs. Moya Quinlan, Robert McD. Taylor and Ralph J. Walker. The following was among the business transacted.