The Gazette 1978

GAZETTE

MARCH 1978

Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh AN APPRICIATION

alcohol in such a quantity as to impair to a dangerous extent his capacity to drive safely. In the case of Owens v. Brimmell (1976) 3 All E.R. 765, the plaintiff passenger was held in such circumstances to have contributed 20% to the extent of his damage. The decision of the Court of Appeal in Spartan Steel d Alloys Ltd. v Martin d Co. (Contractors) Ltd. (1972) 3 All E.R. 557, followed the earlier decisions in disallowing economic loss suffered by the plaintiff independent of the physical damage occasioned by the defendant notwith- standing that it was the forseeable and direct conse- quence of the defendant's negligence. Finally, the reader will find a brief dissertation on the non-contractual or tortious liability of the European Economic Community in the course of which the pessi- mistic prognostication is made based on experience to date that attempts by individuals to fix the Community with liability for torts may well be doomed to failure from the outset. David R. Pigot OFFICE MANAGEMENT DAVID S. PORTER: Profitable Management of a Solicitor's Practice. Published by Oyes Publishing. Price £3.25. The title of this work should be sufficient to stimulate the interest of any practitioner, and the fact that the book is written by a practitioner, and from a practitioner's point of view, means that the natural reluctance of the amateur to become emeshed in theoretical jargon is suitably catered for. In a period of rapid inflation, it is all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security by monitoring only the increase in fee earnings without taking account of the accompanying increase in running expenses. I have no doubt that, over the past few years, many solicitors have had a nasty shock when, months, if not years, after the end of an accounting period, their auditor informs them that, far from making a handsome profit, they have in fact made a very small profit, or even a loss. Those who read Mr. Porter's book, and assimilate even part of its contents, have to hand a ready method of insulating themselves from such shocks. The use of these techniques does not require any greater mathematical skill than the ability to add and subtract with reasonable accuracy. In terms of peace of mind arising from the knowledge that one is in possession of accurate information as to how one's practice is progressing, it is well worth acquiring the necessary skill. Apart from the earlier chapters which deal with fore- casting and budgeting, Mr. Porter deals concisely and clearly with the subject of time costing, and leads on from that to deal with computer applications to time costing, and also to other aspects of solicitors' accounting. This is a book which deserves to be widely read by the solicitors' profession in Ireland, and may be usefully referred to again and again for practical help in the financial management of your practice. Joseph L. Dundon

The tragic death on March 21st of Cearbhall Ó Dilaigh whom we knew best as a Judge of the Supreme Court and as Chief Justice leaves a deep void in contemporary Irish juris- prudence. The impressive tributes already paid to him as a Gaelic scholar, an eminent linguist, a Renaissance man of culture, and a patron of the arts, have been fully deserved. Perhaps, as I have known Cearbhall principally as a lawyer for more than forty years, I may be allowed to pay a more personal tribute. I still remember, when practising on my own, briefing him with a fraud case in the Court of Criminal Appeal which he correctly foretold we would lose. It is remarkable how in the legal sphere the careers of Hugh Kennedy, our first Chief Justice, who died suddenly in 1936, and Cearbhall, can be compared; they were both eminent jurists of international status whose judgments, written in masterly English are always quotable by jurists; they both loved the Irish language, and they were both intent on affirming emphatically the human rights of the individual. Cearbhall had more opportunity to express his trenchant views on the subject of the freedom of the individual in view of the more detailed terms affirming fundamentalrights contained in our current Constitution of 1937. He also had the advantage, with Mr. Justice Walsh and the late Mr. Justice Budd, of commanding a liberal majority in the Supreme Court. He was involved in many important constitutional cases but such stirring sentences as '"Hie claim made on behalf of the police to be entitled to arrest a citizen and forthwith to bundle him out of the juris- diction before he has an opportunity of considering his rights is the negation of law and a denial of justice" (in The State (Quirm) v. Ryan [1965] I.R. at p. 121), and in the same case at p. 118, die words "In plain language, the purpose of the police plan was to eliminate the Courts and to defeat the rule of law as a factor in Government" will never be forgotten. The defence of Article 40, Clause 3, which this writer considers the lynch-pin of the whole Constitution, as expressed in re Haughey [1971] I.R. at p. 264, is memorable. It will be recalled that, in that Clause, the State not only guarantees, and as far as practicable by its laws to defend and vindicate the personal rights of the citizen, but also that the State shall, in particular, by its laws, protect as best it may from uqjust attack, and, in the case of injustice done, vindicate the life, person, good name and property rights of every citizen. Chief Justice ó Dálaigh said that this Clause was a guarantee to the citizen of basic fairness of procedures. "The Constitution guarantees such fairness and it is the duty of the Court to underline that the words of Article 40, Clause 3, are not political shibboleths but provide a positive protection for the citizen and his good name." It has already been stressed how lightly the late Cearbhall ó Dálaigh carried his erudition. This writer can testify to the fact that he often enjoyed informal chats with Cearbhall as a Judge in his chambers. During our college days, I occasionally joined Cearbhall and his wife, Mairin, on mountain walks in Wicklow; subsequently my wife and I were hospitably received by them in Kilquade and I have vivid memories of the many kindnesses he extended to me as a Judge of European Court in Luxembourg. These conver- sations were most stimulating, as one never knew, from the depths of his learning, to what profound subject Cearbhall would next turn his attention. My abiding memory of Cearbhall will always remain his extreme approachability, and the invariable pleasure which his stimulating conversation gave me. But a man like Cearbhall who combined so many qualities in so many spheres is irreplaceable, as a jurist, a scholar, and a public figure of distinction. Our deepest sympathy is extended to his devoted wife, Mairin, to his sisters, Una and Nuala, and to his other relatives. C.G.D. 51